NATALIE ADELHOEFER (SE) PABLO ALLEN-VIZN (ES) ANTOINE ALLORENT (FR) JOHAN ALTENIUS

(SE) LAURA ALVAREZ (NL) BLA BABNIK ROMANIUK (SI) NICOLA DARIO BALDASSARRE (IT)
1
EDUARD BALCELLS (ES) NICOLAS BARNAVON (FR) BENOT BARNOUD (FR) GUILLAUME BARON
(FR) MATTEO BIASIOLO (IT) DAVID BONSIB (SE) CYRIL BRETON (FR) ERBLIN BUCALIU (KO) MIHAI

EUROPAN

BUSE (RO) IVN CAPDEVILA CASTELLANOS (ES) DAVID CASTANHEIRA (PT) FRANCISCO JAVIER
CASTELLANO PULIDO (ES) FRANCESCO CECCARELLI (IT) YAJUN CHEN (CN) IRIS CHERVET
(FR) AURORE CROUZET (FR) FRANOIS DANTART (FR) STYLIANI DAOUTI (GR) BEGOA DE
ABAJ CASTRILL (ES) LOUISE DEDENROTH HJ
(DK) DANIEL DEL
REY HERNNDEZ (ES) FLORENT DESCOLAS (FR)
BOGDAN DEMETRESCU
(RO) MASSIMO DICECCA (IT) JO-NIKLAS DODOO
(DE) ALEXANDRE
DUBURE (FR) YOANN DUPOUY (FR) GERARD DURAN
BARBAR (ES) TOMEU
DURAN GELABERT (ES) GUILLAUME DURANEL
(FR) GUILLERMO
DRIG (CH) GAUTIER DUTHOIT (FR) BENNI EDER
(AT) CHRISTIAN
EICKELBERG (DE) FERNANDO EIROA LORENZO (ES)
CARLES ENRICH (ES)
JULES EYMARD (FR) MIGUEL FERNNDEZ-GALIANO
RODRGUEZ (ES) SARA
FERREIRA (PT) SERAFINO FIORIELLO (IT) OCANE FOLLADOR (FR) LARA FREIRE ROMERO (ES)
KATARZYNA FURGALINSKA (PL)
IGNACIO GALBIS LLORNS (ES)
CLAIRE GIRARDEAU (FR) MIGUEL
GONZLEZ CASTRO (ES) CARLOS
GOR (ES) BERNARDO GRILLI
DI CORTONA (IT) ELI GRNN
(NO) GIOVANNI
GLORIALANZA (IT)
ADRI GUARDIET
(ES) SIMON
GUILLEMOT (FR)
DACE GURECKA
( LV ) G O N Z A LO
GUTIRREZ
(ES) JOANNA
HAGSTEDT (SE)
DOMINIQUE HAUDEROWICZ (DK) PERNILLE HEILMANN LIEN (NO) SIGNE HELLAND NYBERG (NO)
ANDREY HODKEVICH (BG) AMINE IBNOLMOBARAK (FR) TOMI JASKARI (FI) TADAS JONAUSKIS
(LT) MIRABELA JURCZENKO (PL) NELA KADIC (AT) TAPIO KANGASAHO (FI) MARIA KLEIMOLA
(FI) ALESSANDRO LABRIOLA (IT) LAETITIA LAFONT (FR) ALEXANDRE LAHYANI (FR) MARA
L A N G A R I TA ( E S )
JOHAN LAURE (FR) JENNI LAUTSO (FI) JONATHAN LAZAR
(IT) DIANA LEVIN
(AT) SAMUEL LLOVET (ES) NICOLAS LOMBARDI (FR) DANIEL
LPEZ-DRIGA (ES)
GONZALO JOSE LPEZ GARRIDO (ES) JOS MANUEL LPEZ
UJAQUE (ES) RADIM
LOUDA (CZ) LEONARD MA (CA/FI) CLAUDIA MAINARDI (IT)
JULIA MAISCH (DE)
LINUS MANNERVIK (SE) MARCIN MARASZEK (PL) PAULINE
MARCOMBE (FR) FRANCESCO
MARRAS (IT) GUIOMAR
MARTN DOMNGUEZ (ES)
LETICIA MARTNEZ VELASCO
(ES) SEBASTIN MARTORELL
MATEO (ES) LUIS MASI MASSONI (ES) MARA MESTRE GARCA (ES) PAUL MOTLEY (GB) JEANNE
MOULLET (FR) JOHAN NAVJORD (SE) LAURA NENONEN
(FI) MARIA
TERESA NESTREZ NARVEZ (PE) EMMANUEL NGUYEN
(FR) JENS
NYBOE ANDERSEN (DK) YVAN OKOTNIKOFF (FR) BRUNO
OLIVEIRA
(PT) JARRIK OUBURG (NL) ALBERT PALAZON (ES) DANIELE
PASIN (IT)
HCTOR PEINADOR (ES) FERNANDO PEREZ DEL
PULGAR
MANCEBO (ES) ADRIAN PHIFFER (RO) NICOLAS
PINEAU (FR) BARBARA PIONA (IT)
NURIA PRIETO GONZLEZ (ES) JAKUB PUDO (PL)
CLARA RODRGUEZ LORENZO (ES)
GREGORIO RAMREZ VILA (ES) ADRIEN RRAT
(FR) MARION RHEIN (FR) EMANUELE
ROMANI (IT) JORGE A. RUIZ BOLUDA (ES)
PAOLO RUSSO (IT) MARIE SALADIN
(FR) JUAN MIGUEL SALGADO (ES) BORJA
SALLAGO ZAMBRANO (ES) NICOLA
SCARAMUZZI (IT) FRANZISKA SCHIEFERDECKER (DE) MICHAEL SCHOTT (DE) CLAIRE SZE (FR)
JORGE SOBEJANO NIETO (ES) JUAN SOCAS (ES) VALERIO SOCCIARELLI (IT) SOFA SOLNS (ES)
THEO STORESUND (SE) MARC TORRAS MONTFORT (ES) VIRVE VISNEN (FI) TIMOTHY VANAGT
(BE) RMI VAN DURME (BE) BORIS VAPN (FR) DAVID VECCHI (IT) MORTEN VESTBERG HANSEN
(DK) FLORENT VIDALING (FR) LUCIE WEBER (FR) MIGUEL ZABALLA LLANO (ES) CARLOS ZARCO
SANZ (ES) KARL ZETTERHOLM (SE)

13

ANALYSIS

OF A SESSION
THE

ADAPTABLE

CITY

The Adaptable City / 2

Europan 13 Results
Points of view
This document is available for free download on www.europan-europe.eu.
It gathers two types of points of view on the Europan 13 session results
on the topic of the Adaptable City.
On the European scale, experts from the Scientific Council
and the Technical Committee analyse a selection of rewarded project
with regards to the sites issues:
1- How to Integrate Vacant Sites in Urban Development?
2- How to Transform Physical Obstacles into New Connections?
3- How to Use New Inputs to Change Urban Space?
4- How to Create Positive Dynamics from a Difficult Situation?
On the scale of the Europan national structures, members of the juries
of Europan Germany, Austria, Kosovo, Belgium, Spain, France, Norway
and Portugal give their points of view on the session results
in their respective countries.
This collection of about fifteen articles offers a reflexive approach
on the session.

A catalogue with these articles and the rewarded projects (winners, runners-up and special
mentions) is available for free consultation on the European website www.europan-europe.eu
section E13 Results Catalogue
A printed version of the catalogue is for sale at 37 on the European website
www.europan-europe.eu section Publications

THE ADAPTABLE CITY / 2

Europan 13 Results
Summary

MAP OF THE SITES

p.4

EUROPEAN POINTS OF VIEW

INTRODUCTION
The Project through the Prism of the Adaptable City
by Didier Rebois

p.8

HOW TO INTEGRATE VACANT SITES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT?

Rediscoveries - Of Modern Myths and Ancient Memories
by Jens Metz

p.20

HOW TO TRANSFORM PHYSICAL OBSTACLES INTO NEW CONNECTIONS?

Physical and Strategic Obstacles to Revitalisation
by Aglae Degros and Mathias Rollot

p.30

HOW TO USE NEW INPUTS TO CHANGE URBAN SPACE?

Negotiate as You Go Along: Infrastructures for Shared Hybrid Territories
by Socrates Stratis
New Inputs, New Public Spaces
by Carlos Arroyo
HOW TO CREATE POSITIVE DYNAMICS FROM A DIFFICULT SITUATION?
Regenerative Metamorphoses of Inhabited Milieux and Project Culture
by Chris Youns and Julio de la Fuente

p.40
p.44

p.50

NATIONAL POINTS OF VIEW

EUROPAN BELGIQUE / BELGI / BELGIEN RESULTS
Between Disillusion and Openness
by Jean-Michel Degraeve

p.60

EUROPAN DEUTSCHLAND RESULTS

Object or Project? The Search for a New Common Sense Has Just Begun
by Thorsten Erl

p.64

EUROPAN ESPAA RESULTS

Interpretations on the Adaptable City
by Juana Snchez Gmez

p.68

EUROPAN FRANCE RESULTS

Projects Between thePracticality ofContexts and the Ambition ofTopics
by Nathan Starkman

p.72

EUROPAN NORGE RESULTS

Adaptable Norway? an Oil Stained Landscape
by Ellen Hellsten

p.76

EUROPAN STERREICH/KOSOVO RESULTS

Adaptability around a Core Structure
by Irene Djao-Rakitine

p.80

EUROPAN PORTUGAL RESULTS

Crisis and Opportunities
by Joo Cabral, Leonor Cheis and Conceio Melo

p.84

MAP OF SITES
Europan 13

TRONDHEIM
RSTA

SEINJOKI
JYVSKYL

BERGEN
OS

ESPOO
NACKA

STAVANGER

LUND

LEEUWARDEN
MARL
STREEFKERK

WARSZAWA
GERA

CHARLEROI

SAINT-BRIEUC

A CORUA

LIBRAMONT
BAMBERG SELB
GOUSSAINVILLE
VERNON BONDY
METZ
SCHWBISCH GMND

MONTREUIL
INGOLSTADT
MARNE-LA-VALLE

LANDSBERG
LINZ ST PLTEN

FELDAFING
WIEN
MOULINS
BRUCK/MUR
GENVE
GRAZ
LA CORRZE
BORDEAUX

ZAGREB

IRN
SANTO TIRSO

BARCELONA
BARREIRO
AZENHA DO MAR

GJAKOVA
MOLFETTA

PALMA

HOW TO INTEGRATE VACANT SITES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT?

HOW TO TRANSFORM PHYSICAL OBSTACLES INTO NEW CONNECTIONS?
HOW TO USE NEW INPUTS TO CHANGE URBAN SPACE?
HOW TO CREATE POSITIVE DYNAMICS FROM A DIFFICULT SITUATION?

BELGIQUE/BELGI/BELGIEN

NEDERLAND

CHARLEROI

LEEUWARDEN

LIBRAMONT

STREEFKERK

DEUTSCHLAND

NORGE

BAMBERG

BERGEN

FELDAFING

OS

GERA

RSTA

INGOLSTADT

STAVANGER

LANDSBERG

TRONDHEIM

MARL
SCHWBISCH GMND

STERREICH

SELB

BRUCK/MUR
GRAZ

ESPAA

LINZ

A CORUA

ST PLTEN

BARCELONA

WIEN

IRN
PALMA

POLSKA
WARSZAWA

FRANCE
BONDY

PORTUGAL

BORDEAUX

AZENHA DO MAR

GOUSSAINVILLE

BARREIRO

LA CORRZE

SANTO TIRSO

MARNE-LA-VALLE
METZ

SCHWEIZ/SUISSE/SVIZZERA/SVIZRA

MONTREUIL

GENVE

MOULINS
SAINT-BRIEUC

SUOMI-FINLAND

VERNON

ESPOO
JYVSKYL

HRVATSKA

SEINJOKI

ZAGREB
SVERIGE
ITALIA

LUND

MOLFETTA

NACKA

KOSOVO
GJAKOVA

THE ADAPTABLE CITY / 2

Europan 13 Results

EUROPEAN POINTS OF VIEW

INTRODUCTION
The Project through the Prism of the Adaptable City
by Didier Rebois

p.8

HOW TO INTEGRATE VACANT SITES

IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT?
Rediscoveries - Of Modern Myths and Ancient Memories
by Jens Metz

p.20

HOW TO TRANSFORM PHYSICAL

OBSTACLES INTO NEW CONNECTIONS?
Physical and Strategic Obstacles to Revitalisation
by Aglae Degros and Mathias Rollot

p.30

HOW TO USE NEW INPUTS

TO CHANGE URBAN SPACE?
Negotiate as You Go Along:
Infrastructures for Shared Hybrid Territories
by Socrates Stratis
New Inputs, New Public Spaces
by Carlos Arroyo

p.40
p.44

HOW TO CREATE POSITIVE

DYNAMICS FROM A DIFFICULT SITUATION?
Regenerative Metamorphoses
of Inhabited Milieux and Project Culture
by Chris Youns and Julio de la Fuente

p.50

DIDIER REBOIS, architect, teacher at the Paris-la-Villette School of Architecture (FR).

General Secretary of Europan and coordinator of the Scientific Council.

The Project through the Prism

of the Adaptable City
The purpose of the European catalogue of

rigid functionalism to produce Europes cities,

public finances, Europan found active partners

results is to reflect the outcome of the Europan

while adapting to changes in ways of life and

with interesting sites. For the urban players, the

13th session.

the environment?

notion of adaptability is about the compatibility

Europan uses this thematic as a background

of spaces to urban practices, but also about

Strategies for defining the 21st-century

to emphasise three sub-themes as questions

integrating unpredictable timeframes into the

city? A theme and three sub-themes

to the actors and competitors: first, how can

production of urban projects.

the project develop around value as sharing

While the objective of the municipal players

This session continued the theme of the

and solidarity?; second, at a time of economic

is still to obtain a vision for the future of their

Europan 12 competition, The Adaptable City,

crisis and also of private sector dominance

sites, which can form the basis for political

applying it in new variations. For Europan, it

in the production of cities and architecture,

choices and will appeal to their constituents,

is important that the processes arising from

how can we devise new ways of organising

there is also a realistic need for these projects/

the competition should do more to involve

urban commissions and the actors, that give

visions to be embodied in highly practical

the actors as protagonists of the project, but

a greater role to a bottom-up approach? And

implementation proposals.

in different forms. Urban projects need to be

finally, how can the project concentrate more

The aim may be to change the image of a site

able to evolve over time, so the challenge

on the production processes over time than

for a transitional period, until conditions are

is to conceive them differently. The trick

on ready-to-build objects?

more favourable to fulfilling the full ambitions

is to be able to combine the long term a

of the project. Or it may be to find triggers

vision for the future that is necessary for the

Sites and people that are motivated,

that will usher in a first phase of change,

transformation of a context with a flexible

but looking for pragmatic solutions

with no short-term obligation to implement

project that proposes spatial solutions and

the full project. And when a more long-term

modes of production that can adapt to a city

49 sites located in cities in 15 European

perspective is possible, it is still expected

that is moving, changing, dynamic.

countries were selected around this theme. It

that the projects should, over time, be able to

How can we escape from the still prevalent

is noteworthy that despite a severe crisis in the

attract potential investors.

In the catalogue, these sites are presented
alongside an interview with a local representative who explains the municipalitys goals.
Experimental projects proposing
a mix of realism and innovation
For the competitors, therefore, the task
was to carry out the complex exercise of
conceiving projects that combine a vision for
the future, innovation in the project design
process and pragmatism in implementation.
Naturally, different interpretations emerge in
the responses, but the juries were keen to
choose winning teams that were proposing
innovative project practices around one main
question: how to reconcile the need to define
spaces able to adapt to perpetually changing
uses and practices?
The winning proposals that this article wishes
to explore are those that propose changes
in professional practices and challenge the
traditional role of the architect. It will draw on

1 - LEEUWARDEN (NL), RUNNER-UP - URBAN PRESCRIPTIONS > SEE CATALOGUE P.48

the projects themselves, but will also cite the

2 - NACKA (SE), RUNNER-UP - THE ENDS OF THE CITY > SEE CATALOGUE P.56

post-competition interviews conducted by

the team proposes to convert courtyards into

industrial storage site, the team proposes to

Europan Europe with the winning teams about

eco-productive areas: water will be returned to

build a new urban form, sharply defined by

their positions on the question of adaptability

the abandoned channels, temporary uses will

large buildings that form juxtaposed urban

and the way it is tackled in their projects.

be proposed for vacant areas and convertible

signals. However, these big architectures are

public spaces will be created. However, this

designed to be flexible and to accommodate

The project as a
lasting urban form
that accommodates
changing uses

intervention leaves open the integration in the

to changing uses. For example, the floors can

long term of future uses, which will need to

host different functions and the programs can

be agreed with residents.

be converted from housing to workplaces. The

This same standpoint is found in teams

lasting object-project cannot be separated

that are not working on an existing fabric,

from the process whereby it is reused.

but on a future new neighbourhood, linked

In Barreiro (PT), with Between the Lines

Some of the winning teams argue that urban

with a perception of the nearby fabric. The

(fig.3), the winning team adopts exactly the

form and architecture are enduring factors.

contemporary city is not one but several

same attitude in another architectural style.

For them, the challenge is to reuse stable

places. It is a complex structure, multilayered,

It compacts lines of buildings that resonate

typologies that can adapt to new uses. In

varied, made up of complementary and

with the landscape as large structural

some cases, this means harmonising with the

interconnected ideas, concepts and systems,

units onsite. These lines are nevertheless

existing refurbished urban fabric; in others it

according to the runner-up team on the Nacka

sufficiently flexible to accommodate the

means creating new building forms designed

site (SE),The Ends of the City (fig.2). It is time

needs and desires of the potential users and

to last. Only the uses change with time and the

to rethink urban form as a factor of resilience,

self-organized initiatives.

city has a permanent dimension capable of

rather than something futile that demands

absorbing these changes without its structure

constant rehabilitation. On a riverside

and its spaces being affected.

T h e t i t l e o f t h e r u n n e r- u p p r o j e c t i n
Leeuwarden (NL), Urban Prescriptions (fig.1),
puts its cards on the table. The challenges
are to reclaim built-up plots in a historical
fabric and to introduce a new program into
a former museum site. For the team, this
means reconciling respect for the existing
qualities and adaptability, i.e. a change in
program. The team proposes to reinforce
the public spaces in the block through smallscale micro-interventions that will render it
adaptable without fundamental alteration.
We believe that the city of the future will
not significantly change, it will just be used
differently. In this restored urban structure,

3 - BARREIRO (PT), WINNER - BETWEEN THE LINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.27

10

The winning team in Graz (AT), Walzer (fig.4),

also starts with the idea that buildings
generally live longer than the programs for
which they were designed. That is why we
propose an adaptable structure that can
4 - GRAZ (AT), WINNER - WALZER > SEE CATALOGUE P.87

accommodate the current program, but also

possible future adaptations. Their design for
the station site is a structure that is massive
and unitary but, for protection from railway
noise, is built around large interior squares.
And this assumes certain specific spatial
arrangements to allow changes of use.
This position is a renewed version of a
fairly traditional attitude in the culture of the
European city: it had been revived in the 1980s
with the return of the city as a matrix around
the same slogan The city doesnt change,
only uses change.

The public space

project as a framework
for construction
over time
Other winning teams are also looking for a
potentially unifying structure, but exclusively
through public space rather than buildings
which, in their view, do not follow the same
timeframes. For them, the public dimension of
the city is what can be defined and controlled
over time, whereas buildings which relate
more to the private sphere are less easy to
program and are more arbitrarily embedded
in time.
The winning team in Ingolstadt (DE),
Waldstrasse (fig.5), clearly states it: the
first priority is public space, with the aim of
maximising the character of the Northern
half of the town. Their idea is that public
policies and structures should implement
and manage such a program. To this end, the
team proposes a series of 5 strategies and 25
initiatives to form the framework for a clearly
planned decision-making timetable. From
urban-scale parks to interior courtyards, this
is a global strategy on public space entailing
5 - INGOLSTADT (DE), WINNER - WALDSTRASSE > SEE CATALOGUE P.89

a non-linear implementation process. It is this

11

6 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE), RUNNER-UP - CREATIVE CITY > SEE CATALOGUE P.165

strategy that will decide how the construction

reconnecting city and sea that will act as a

sustaining a long-term development project

programs will be realised.

backbone to ensure the coherence of an urban

in their use public space as a fairly rapid way

In Schwbisch Gmnd (DE), the runner-up

space that is at present highly fragmented.

to provide urban coherence. This raises the

team with its Creative City (fig.6) project also

It is interesting to see, in these young teams,

question, jokingly asked by the winning team in

largely concentrates on public space, noting

such confidence in the existence of an urban

Ingolstadt whether: Wouldnt this be too much

the lack of pedestrian streets and space that

public service and political officials capable of

work for the politicians?

the inhabitants can share in this modern part

of the city. The team conducts a close analysis
of possible programs to develop new ways
of life through specific building interventions
(housing, boarding houses, social centres,
cultural foundations). However, all these
programs will be linked by a participatory
public space with citizen involvement, which
allows implementation to be spread across
different sites and over the long term.
In Molfetta (IT), a city seeking to rehabilitate
its seafront, the runner-up team, Molfetta,
terra e mare (fig.7), proposes activity points
that can be realised over time... and it is the
outcome of the first operations that will make
it possible to build a promenade as a link. It
will be this public space an urban promenade

7 - MOLFETTA (IT), RUNNER-UP - MOLFETTA, TERRA E MARE > SEE CATALOGUE P.154

The ecological project

associating the long
term of the territory
and the short term of
the development
The winning project in Moulins (FR), The Theory
of Evolution (fig.8), conceptualises this double
temporality as they gather reflections from
Natural Sciences, through which concepts of
Adaptability, Transformation, Evolution, etc.
are developed, around one question: How
do living species evolve and guarantee their
survival facing modifications of their environments? If Darwin and Lamarck answer
8 - MOULINS (FR), WINNER - THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.103

the question in an opposite way, the team

12

9 - SAINT-BRIEUC (FR), WINNER - SEASIDE BOULEVARD > SEE CATALOGUE P.116

nevertheless argues that both doctrines prove

to be complementary for the urban project
on sites with a higher natural value. The team
considers that the reflection on such a site

Masterplan/project
versus
acupuncture/project?

project cannot be implemented in one go,

the team proposes that it should start with
a regulatory structure and seek to adapt to
opportunities through flexible phasing. Can

located around a river with contrasting banks,

Among the teams which believe that public

the towns urban planning department stick

one urban and the other mainly landscaped

intervention is essential to maintain the long-

to this proposal and guarantee to take the

should include the long term of the territory: the

term coherence of the urban project, a few

project forward over time? In any case, after

slow evolution of the Allier River, bridge lines,

accept the idea of a masterplan. Nothing

Europan 9 it had already introduced with the

floods, dikes and floodplains act as a network

reprehensible in that! But the question is how to

winning team Gutirrez-delaFuente Arquitectos

of elements structuring the project. Still, faster

maintain adherence to a plan that will prescribe

an acupunctural approach to amenities and

development linked to urban economy as

urban form and guarantee its implementation

housing in the town.

well as the values of the parcels and the rents

piece by piece over time?

At the opposite extreme from the creation of

should not be forgotten. This reflection creates

In any case, this is the wager of the runner-up

a masterplan is the Colonization of the City

a double temporality implying the association

team in Selb (DE), Round the Corner (fig.11),

Centre (fig.12) winning project in Gera, another

of expertises in terms of project: the one of the

which proposes a systematic approach

municipality experiencing downgrowth. The

landscaper, working on the long-term, topog

based on a strong new masterplan

team proposes reinforcing a large marginal

raphy, hydrography, geology and ground char

Working in a town that has shrunk as a

space in the heart of the town centre, by

acteristics, and the faster evolution of the city.

result of industrial decline and is looking to

a process of colonisation based not on a

One of both runner-up teams in Saint-Brieuc

regenerate its central nucleus, the team wants

plan, but on an acupunctural approach that

(FR), Seaside Boulevard (fig.9), is also

to stabilise the form of a town-centre district

revitalises an existing area by injecting new

confronted to a territory of natural valleys

through a process of urban consolidation,

uses. As the town has a limited budget to

around which the city developed and the

by eliminating infrastructural barriers and

invest in urban development, our projects

topography of which allowed the preservation

creating urban places. However, since the

concept is based on the idea of developing

of the urban development. Just like in Moulins,

the team proposes a double scale: the longterm, creating a natural boulevard as a matrix
following the abandoned railway; and the
short-term, implementing projects to open
up potential sites for development and the
installation of new programs as innovative
initiatives.
The runner-up project in St Plten (AT), Ju(MP)
in the Water - Kiss That Frog (fig.10), lies as well
on the creation of an environmental system
through a structure that is defined by water,
as a large-scale grid capable of integrating
different architectures and programs. It is a
new urban model that develops in time phases
and is structured on water lines and basins, as
well as a new vision of public space that puts
everyday life into direct contact with nature.

10 - ST PLTEN (AT), WINNER - JU(MP) IN THE WATER - KISS THAT FROG > SEE CATALOGUE P.171

13

11 - SELB (DE), RUNNER-UP - ROUND THE CORNER > SEE CATALOGUE P.246

13 - GJAKOVA (KO), RUNNER-UP - CARAVANSERAIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.84

temporary uses such as container garages,

The project
that emerges from
the existing physical
and human fabric

private gardens, play areas, and open-air

Many teams reject the idea of arbitrarily plan-

cinema and a Biergarten (open-air bar), which

ning new structures or objects on the sites. They

will occupy the space until more substantial

consider that these sites have a history, both in

programs can be implemented. It is a tribute

physical space, but also in practices. And they

to slowness which, around a starter urban

think that the attempt to revitalise these often

project, proposes that the next steps should be

peripheral areas requires respect for what is

explored in collaboration with citizens.

already there. For some, therefore, the outline of

Between two project strategies that operate

the project emerges from a meticulous analysis

in similar contexts and in the vacancy of the

of this existing state.

urban fabric, it is interesting to consider which

The runner-up team in Gjakova (KO),

approach to adopt: long-term control through

Caravanserais (fig.13), is radical in this respect.

a masterplan or a more open system in which

The diagnosis of a changing urban situation

the eventual outcome is not known in advance.

the riverside areas accounts for 95% of the

This difference in method is a good example

conceptual work. This diagnosis, which brings

of the diversity of ways in which the winning

familiarity with the minute details of both spaces

teams seek to manage adaptability.

and practices, forms the basis of micro-interven-

this district sector by sector, in constant

collaboration with its residents. The team
proposes beginning with the construction of
three buildings, followed by the injection of

tions intended to reinforce the urban structure

and the identity of the place as a social value.

12 - GERA (DE), WINNER COLONIZATION OF THE CITY CENTRE > SEE CATALOGUE P.215

14

14 - A CORUA (ES), RUNNER-UP - EMBROIDERING THE EDGE > SEE CATALOGUE P.76

The runner-up project in A Corua (ES),

Embroidering the Edge (fig.14), proposes a
remodelling of the seafront. For the team, the
principles of adaptability and self-organization
relate to the idea of revealing the values of the
place and drawing on them to define a new
future. To achieve this, it emphasises the
importance of the place, of morphology, of
perception and evolution, involving human
beings as both inhabitants and makers of
their environment. The goal, as Cedric Price
called for in architecture, is prevention rather
than cure.
In Barcelona (ES), the runner-up project,
Sustainable Interface (fig.15), as a follow-on
from the same teams earlier Europan 12
winning project, begins with a meticulous
15 - BARCELONA (ES), RUNNER-UP - SUSTAINABLE INTERFACE > SEE CATALOGUE P.205

study of the site with the aim of detecting the

possibilities of introducing flexibility of uses
over time and maintaining a reversibility that
will allow the site to return to its original state.
Their goal is to introduce into the existing
fabric production spaces and activities that
are compatible with housing. They devise
typologies capable of accommodating
such a mix: active plinths (productive and
commercial spaces) that sustain lively
emergences (housing, offices, hotels).
Finally, the runner-up project in Charleroi (BE),
Making Room for Gilly (fig.16), starts with the
layered urban structure of this slightly obsolete
district as an opportunity to develop flexible
buildings capable of defining public space.
With this gradual process, anchored in the
existing fabric, the project aims to transform the

16 - CHARLEROI (BE), RUNNER-UP - MAKING ROOM FOR GILLY > SEE CATALOGUE P.211

site over time, in keeping with its users needs.

15

17 - BARCELONA (ES), WINNER - IN MOTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.203

The project
as a flexible strategy,
adaptable
to varying uses

fabric is no longer a fixed element, but a group

increased building density to encourage the

of heterogeneous elements with different

influx of new inhabitants and activities. Their

degrees of change. On an industrial site

project is not a finished form, but a strategy

slated for conversion, they see the priority as

based around principles and that must be

being able to accommodate to movement

capable of adapting to real needs at any time.

by introducing new strategies that combine

It is conceived more as a system of working

Some winning teams refuse to predefine a

adaptability, self-sufficient systems, an eco-

that involves several urban agents choosing

global physical structure capable of accom-

systemic perspective and a social approach

between different activities and actions.

modating flexible uses, because they think that

to housing. The architecture itself must be able

these forms can no longer accommodate to

to adjust rapidly to keep pace with changing

changes in the city. They prefer to propose a

uses.

flexible strategy, as a system that would itself

In Santo Tirso (PT), the runner-up team,

be able to adapt to changing uses.

3tirsolines (fig.18), proposes a project that

Typical of this attitude is the winning team

is able to adapt to the needs of the local

in Barcelona (ES), In Motion (fig.17), which

population by creating a flexible strategy

takes the view that the adaptable city requires

around 3 lines: a connective green axis; a

strategies for constructions where the built

renovated market that becomes public space;

18 - SANTO TIRSO (PT), RUNNER-UP - 3TIRSOLINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.162

16

In Zagreb (HR), the winning team, Swap on

the River (fig.19), proposes a flexible strategy
that activates the site by injecting temporary
programs and creating ephemeral realities.
The aim is to activate the riverbanks as an

19 - ZAGREB (HR), WINNER - SWAP ON THE RIVER > SEE CATALOGUE P.61

area for leisure and events. Their approach is

to implement a project mechanism that allows

precise outcome of the process necessarily

a set of negotiations in which, in the long term,

changes and adaptations.

being known in advance.

investors, city dwellers and residents are the

For example, Bondys Count (fig.20), the

future protagonists.

The process-project:
negotiated uses and
actor interactions

winning project in Bondy (FR), is conceived

In Metz (FR), on the site of an abandoned

around actions that invite the local economic

former airport, the goal is to attract activities

actors and users to play a role in the sites

that will replace the old function with new

transformation. This site, well positioned along

dynamism. The runner-up project, Cycles-

the Canal de lOurcq on the way out of Paris,

Sol-Air (fig.21), tries to incorporate each part

Some teams, adopting a similar attitude also

is at present essentially an area of commercial

of the program into a redevelopment strategy

based on flexible strategies, assume the role of

activities and the brief is to make it compatible

for the former airport based on a balanced and

tacticians, making the project a nexus of actor

with business and residential activities. To

inclusive process-project, which will benefit

interactions and negotiated uses.

achieve this, partial rearrangements of the

everyone while integrating the existing activities

The project is less formalised, the vision of the

plot structures have to be negotiated with the

and neighbourhoods. It proposes testing

future no doubt less defined, but the project is

economic players, so that new uses can be

functions with the participation of the users

permanently negotiated around responses to

introduced while still improving the commercial

and conceiving a process that adapts over

change and precise urban goals, without the

dynamic. We consider the process-project as

time. Adaptability is inherent to an approach

20 - BONDY (FR), WINNER - BONDYS COUNT > SEE CATALOGUE P.135

17

21 - METZ (FR), RUNNER-UP - CYCLES-SOL-AIR > SEE CATALOGUE P.53

of this kind: self-organization, sharing and

participatory projects are an integral part of
the strategy and should drive a bottom-up
process.
Finally, the runner-up project in Trondheim
(NO), More Trondheim! (fig.22), takes the
same approach in its plan to revitalise a still
functioning brewery by adding other programs
based around public activities and leisure.
For them, the theme of adaptability reflects
the needs of the site: Working with strategies
that are both programmatic and spatial and
can develop over time, rather than proposing
a finished masterplan. And it is these welldefined strategies which form a solid
framework that will enable different things to
take shape, depending on increases in prices
and mortgage rates, demographic segregation
and economic groups.
This catalogue recording the results of the
Europan 13 session provides a way for readers
to find their way through the multiplicity of sites
and winning projects, based on a presentation
around the sessions four big themes, each
introduced by an article by one or two
experts which seeks to offer an interpretative
framework.

22 - TRONDHEIM (NO), RUNNER-UP - MORE TRONDHEIM! > SEE CATALOGUE P.180

18

HOW TO INTEGRATE VACANT SITES

IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT?

19

20

JENS METZ, architect and urbanist. Founder of plattformberlin office (DE).

Guest professor at the Frankfurt UAS.
Member of Europans Technical Committee
www.plattformberlin.com

Rediscoveries - Of Modern Myths

and Ancient Memories
As to your Newton, I confess I do not

been rebuild after the evacuation of the debris

Potsdamer Platz, the former economic centre

understand his void and his gravity;

of war to the large voids visible in its centre

and going-out venue in the heart of the city,

I admit he has demonstrated the movement

until recently, the sensation of openness

was demolished in the war and abandoned

of the heavenly bodies with more exactitude

and unfinished characterise the city as a

during the Cold War due to the construction

than his forerunners; but you will admit

Stadtlandschaft, a city-landscape, made

of the wall in its centre (fig.2-3). The decision

it is an absurdity to maintain the existence

of discontinuities, sudden shifts of spatial

to recover the place was driven by economic

of Nothing.

perception and large interior perspectives.

interests; it was rebuilt very soon after the

FREDERICK THE GREAT, KING IN PRUSSIA,

Looking at these urban voids, retracing their

fall of the Berlin Wall as if nothing had

IN A LETTER TO VOLTAIRE, NOV. 25, 1777

history, their appearance and later fill up or

happened, according to the urban dogma of

not, the debates and controversies around

the critical reconstruction, with the notable

Berlin. Thinking of vacancy in an urban

them, there are three recent case-studies

exception of some moderate towers. There

context, it is my city that first comes to my

as archetypes of voids. Their nature has

was no public debate, the pressure was too

mind. Berlin has been the capital of voids,

been transformed in the last 25 years, due to

high. The result is well known, the former void

at least for the last fifty years, if we consider

changes in economy, governance or society.

has disappeared, replaced by the globally

them as missing parts in a citys fabric, clearly

None of these reasons have been unique, it

accepted mix of fashion brands, coffee shops

identifiable other spaces, open, free, full of

has always been a juxtaposition of different

and urban entertainment, masked by what

generosity and unexplored possibilities (fig.1).

influences that made these voids change their

Charles Jencks qualified as trophy buildings

Here, in the mythic home of space pioneers

affectation, also according to unexpected

of the worst kind, the botoxed face of global

and temporary activations, a role model for

occasions, change of moods or political

capitalist architecture. Someone shot nostalgia

almost all sorts of voids could be found,

upheavals. Their fate could also be seen as

in the back.

smaller or larger, voluntary or by inadvertence,

a coming-of-age story, where the previously

The park Gleisdreieck (fig.4.) is a younger

poetic or violent. Berlin, mon amour.

young and rude city becomes mature,

example of the transformation of a vacant site

Historically, the larger urban unbuilt areas in

covering the scars of an excessive and

inside the city. A former railyard right in the

Berlin are, due to its polycentric structure,

exhausting youth by the unified cardboard-like

South of Potsdamer Platz, it was abandoned

forming gaps or areas reserved for particular

scenery, turning an uncertain yet identifiable

for many years, pioneer plants took over the

purposes between them. World War II changed

smile into a hollow grin, or, as an opposite

site making it almost inaccessible. The shift

the face of the city, causing multiple scratches

posture, exposing the cracks and wrinkles in

of the ownership from the railway company

and broken teeth, wounds and missing links.

a fragile wink. Nostalgia burns in the hearts of

to the city of Berlin and the development of

From the numerous open plots that have not

the strongest.

Potsdamer Platz made it possible to realise

a new park on the site. The constructions
needed an ecological compensation in
terms of unsealed surfaces, and there was a
large public demand for green spaces. The
discussions between the developers and the
inhabitants were tough, finally a compromise
was found and it was decided to redefine the
borders by new constructions, also meant to
balance the costs for the park.
The third, most recent and probably trendsetting vacant site is the former airport
Tempelhof (fig.5), a huge open space in the
middle of densely populated housing areas.
Constructed in the National Socialist era as
central airport, it was used by the American
army during the Berlin airlift shortly after the
war, and then again it served as civil airport

1 - BERLIN (DE)

until 2008. Over the years, the discussion about

21

2 - 3 - BERLIN - POSTDAMERPLATZ CROSSED BY THE WALL AND REBUILT

4 - BERLIN - NEW PARK GLEISDREIECK

its future never stopped, different scenarios

unified by the search for a new destiny in

were developed, but the city and the architects

urban development. Blind spots, wastelands,

never managed to convince the public opinion.

no mans lands, leftover spaces they are

A referendum was held, opposing the official

in need of full adaptation. These spaces are

plan to build at the margins, and a citizens

far too large to be simply weaved with the

initiative to not build anything. After the never-

surrounding fabric or filled up with known

ending story of the construction of the new

structures. With reference to authorship, Michel

Berlin airport, the posters with the bored face

Foucault has shown which conclusions can

of the mayor and the question: Would you

be drawn from methods, narrative structures

confide another airport to this man? put the

and representations of plans regarding forms

final nail in the coffin of both the plans for

of authority and decision-making processes.

urbanisation and the political career of the

Interpreted in this way, the panorama of sites

citys commander-in-chief. Now, the situation

reveals itself as a mirror of current debates

a dramatic setting and immediate access to a

is blocked, in times when there is a need for

on urbanity.

natural reserve. An infrastructural hub at the

both housing and qualified public space, the

field has neither equipment nor any services,

5 - BERLIN - AIRPORT TEMPELHOF TRANSFORMED INTO A PARK

river Tagus in Barreiro (PT) will be obsolete

Reconnections

in the near future due to the construction of

as no construction at all is allowed. A disaster

in communication, a Waterloo for urban

Some of the vacant sites basically need

unique occasion to promote a new centrality,

planning and a cautionary tale for the power

a reconnection with their surroundings,

combining elements of the built heritage and

of BANANA Built Absolutely Nothing Near

tightening the loose fabric and redefining a

landscape features with additional activities.

Anything Nor Anyone.

closer relationship with natural elements. This

The site in Bergen (NO) has a beautiful natural

Filled, framed or faded. Three examples, in

is especially the case of the sites connected

setting close to a lake and a river at the edge

the course of a few years, which show an

to water, whether lake or river, as the city offers

of the city centre (fig.8). The brief did not

altered position regarding urban voids and the

a faade with transversal, visual or physical

only ask for a diverse urban neighbourhood

decision-making processes, but also reflecting

connections.

and innovative models of collective housing

profound changes in economy, the modalities

In Nacka (SE), the site right on the shoreline

as pilot projects, but interestingly also for

of governance or societal conventions. In

was inaccessible for more than 50 years,

new forms of property and the appropriate

having a close look at the sites, although

due to its occupation with oil cisterns (fig.6).

governance. The city of Zagreb (HR) proposes

very different in scale and location, they are

Today, it is waiting to be rediscovered, offering

a reflection area of several kilometres along

a new bridge (fig.7). This gives the city the

the banks of the river Sava, with four specific

sites for possible scenarios inside this
large perimeter (fig.9). A very contemporary
situation familiar to many European cities,
a sort of waiting time until further decisions,
filled with temporary public occupations.

6 - NACKA (SE)

7 - BARREIRO (PT)

Reinterpretations
Other sites do not simply need to be
reconnected, but rather reinterpreted, as the
former programs have been removed while
the structures buildings or urban fabric
are still in place, forming different kinds of
heritage. Here, the task was to attract new
users, intensify urbanity and find out what
kind of infill could give sense to these current

8 - BERGEN (NO)

9 - ZAGREB (HR)

urban voids. Additionally, the question

22

10 - BORDEAUX (FR)

11 - LEEUWARDEN (NL)
15 - GENVE (CH), WINNER - LA VILLE INTERMDIAIRE > SEE CATALOGUE P.43

12 - GENVE (CH)

use and infrastructure (fig.11). More and more

military airbase, has a mind-blowing scale; it

retail outlets are going out of business, leading

needs to be gradually converted by a long-term

to vacancies and deterioration. The city needs a

process, incorporating multiple uses (fig.14).

strategic solution to the decline of the threshold

A remarkable demand in the brief was the

areas leading to the main locations in the centre,

conception of new ways of constructing and

intervening both in public space and inside the

managing projects, which aimed to foster the

buildings. In Genve (CH), the proposed site is

emergence of local initiatives, including a wide

part of a suburban fabric made of small plots

variety of potential partners.

owned by a multitude of private landowners

(fig.12). Recent densification processes led to

13 - FELDAFING (DE)

a patchwork of small development projects,

Toolkits and catalogues

without any overall urban project or coordinated

The proposals discuss contemporary questions

land-use strategy. Therefore, the brief asked for

of urban forms light city Vs. condensed city,

a method to structure the future urban design,

village Vs.suburbia; in short, the question of

a flexible pattern that allows adaptation to

urbanity and how to achieve it. Finally, it is about

different situations.

human beings creating volumes, as stated

Swedish jury member Rolo Ftterer during the

Reinventions

debates at the Europan 13 Forum of Cities and

A third group of sites comprises former

projects, their proposed methodology and their

military areas liberated by the Europe-wide

visual presentation, a number of comparable

reorganisation of military forces and their

approaches appears, in terms of strategy,

concentration on fewer and smaller sites, finally

expression and proposed programmatic keys,

a movement of economy. These olive fields

always in search for concepts that overcome

offer interesting development perspectives

the specific problematic on-site and give a

for the cities, as the former enclaves are part

more general, conceptual vision.

of governance was raised, in how far the

of the urban agglomerations from now on;

A number of winning entries proposes

changes in economy and society could give

nevertheless these out-of-scale territories have

collections of possibilities, prototypes for the

way to new forms of management, implying

to be reinvented in almost all possible fields,

occupation of spaces, as models that could

both private and public actors.

from program to structure.

subsequently be adapted to the specific

The site in Bordeaux (FR) comprises a listed

The military training campus right in the South

situation. The design itself is often random,

historical fire station built at the beginning of the

of the village of Feldafing (DE) was originally

a square or a circle with people gathering

1950s (fig.10). Its future is part of the mutation

built as an elite school for the National Socialists

around, occasionally named forum, agora,

of the whole Garonne Eiffel sector, and the

in an idyllic location next to a lake (fig.13).

stage or plaza. Some of them appear as

challenge is to deal with the tension between

Today, several identical buildings in alpine

pure demonstrations of ill-conceived lists of

the heritage and additional new programs

style still remain on the site as testimonials

possible interventions, while others try not

and to organise the subsequent realisation

of the sinister past, and the main task was to

only to establish toolkits and catalogues, but

process. As in many other European towns and

propose a reorganisation of the site in different

also aim to create an intelligent overlapping

cities, the city centre of Leeuwarden (NL) has

zones, allowing for a flexible and differentiated

of ubiquitous spatial arrangements and the

undergone a transformation, both in terms of

development. BA128 in Metz (FR), a former

local context.

14 - METZ (FR)

Juries in Bratislava (SK). By deconstructing the

23

16 - METZ (FR), WINNER - BA128 RSONANCES CONOMES > SEE CATALOGUE P.51

In Genve (CH), winning project La ville

intermdiaire (fig.15) proposes a charter
to densify the largely underused area,
developing a series of tools to resolve the
resulting conflicts. This rule-based concept
is completed by a toolkit with proposals to
upgrade and adapt the existing villas. The
winner in Metz, BA128 Rsonances conomes
(fig.16), sets up a large ecological park on
the former airbase. The existing landscape
typologies in the region are identified and
set up as models for the structuration of the
vast space, using archetypes as the prairie,
the orchard or the agricultural greenhouse. In
Leeuwarden, runner-up Urban Prescriptions
(fig.17) proposes a catalogue of situations,
treatments and small interventions to upgrade
the public spaces in the centre. A clever and
well-targeted adaptation of the omnipresent
toolbox, applied at all scale levels, from the
city in its entirety to the profile of a street, not
without reminding Camillo Sitte or Christopher
Alexander around the corner.

17 - LEEUWARDEN (NL), RUNNER-UP - URBAN PRESCRIPTIONS > SEE CATALOGUE P.48

24

18 - METZ (FR), RUNNER-UP - CYCLES-SOL-AIR > SEE CATALOGUE P.53

Imbrications of scales

formerly inaccessible airfield to its surroundings

point with the proposal of a promenade around

through the revival of the margins, connecting

it, which links all the currently isolated areas.

It is noticeable that since the shift of the

the already present transportation interfaces to

The project thus creates a walkable shared

competitions topic from housing to more

the central void and densifying the peripheral

space along the shoreline that connects the

urban issues sometimes around the turn

cores. It intensifies the existing by extension,

new city quarter and its neighbourhoods.

of the millennium, the range of scales has

using the newly gained space. The runner-up

considerably augmented. The participants

on same site, Cycles-Sol-Air (fig.18), goes

seek to reflect from the dwelling to the house,

further beyond in history, discovering the traces

Romantic heroism

the city block, the quarter to the entire city,

of a roman aqueduct and a baroque castle that

Some of the projects could be seen as

and even further in the region. An imbrication

used to be on the site. They are trying to not

reminders of an era when architecture was a

of scales, from macro to micro and vice versa,

only anchor their project on the present territory,

cultural discipline, and not only a marketing

that reflects the attention given to the individual

but also in the past, considering that a territory

tool to produce exchangeable boxes. They

plot within an urban system and the question

has a kind of inscribed memory to take into

are triggering the imaginary by a narrative,

about how far an individual lot can contribute to

consideration. In Bergen, the winner Our City,

often based on archetypes, presenting a

the development of the city as a whole.

Our Collective (fig.19), starts the reflection on

new romanticism, collages of situational

Again, winning project BA128 Rsonances

the scale of the entire agglomeration. The lake

poetry, tales and traces that are interwoven

conomes in Metz gives an example of a

close to the site is interpreted as a sort of central

in an ongoing story. Piranesis drawings of

territorial approach by trying to reconnect the

park instead of a barrier; it becomes a meeting

the Campo Marzio seem to filter through

19 - BERGEN (NO), WINNER - OUR CITY, OUR COLLECTIVE > SEE CATALOGUE P.31

25

20 - FELDAFING (DE), RUNNER-UP - THE MAGIC PARK OF FELDAFING > SEE CATALOGUE P.40

as a background picture. Rossi is back, at

Other projects are more heroic in their

several levels, a return both to his nostalgic

expression. The winner in Barreiro Between the

drawings and his vision of the city, always

Lines (fig.22), designs a framework as limits

more solid figure than fabric, closer to

for an open future, a local mega-structure as

Athens than Rome.

elevated walkable grid, that allows another

The runner-up in Feldafing The Magic Park of

Feldafing (fig.20), has a romantic subtheme;
it sets up a network of associations,
imaginary connections and allusions,
therefore creating cultural interferences in
time and space. But the proposal is not only
romantic it is also very intelligent in terms
of strategy, reinterpreting the site as the
spatial continuity of the experience of the
landscape, punctuated by follies that could
be easily adapted to different programs.
The winning team in Bergen Our City, Our
Collective, uses a peaceful imagery to pass
its political statement a manifesto on social
housing in Norway today. The large porous
block breaks with the current production of
dwellings, creating a critical mass that allows
a large ground floor with shared facilities
and common services. The runner-up in
Zagreb Hey! There is a River Beyond (fig.21),
disguises its highly analytical approach with
colourful, almost nave visualisations that
very well illustrate the playful intentions and
the imagined participative process.

21 - ZAGREB (HR), RUNNER-UP - HEY! THERE IS A RIVER BEYOND > SEE CATALOGUE P.62

22 - BARREIRO (PT), WINNER - BETWEEN THE LINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.27

26

23 - NACKA (SE), RUNNER-UP - THE ENDS OF THE CITY > SEE CATALOGUE P.56

view of landscape. It creates new public

neighbourhood-building as a laboratory

minimum restoration and minor extensions

spaces, both mineral and landscaped, which

experiment of intermediate democracy.

for the listed buildings, and the installation of

set up a dialogue with the heritage buildings

One of the runner-up projects in Bordeaux Les

a theatre company that plays the site with its

on-site. The runner-up in Nacka The Ends of

grandes manuvres (fig.24), uses already

huge co-constructed machines. The winner

the City (fig.23), suggests an assemblage of

tested methods to activate the site and

in Leeuwarden Te Huur (fig.25), proposes a

typologies on an artificially created topography

transform it into a mixed-used core for the

focalised bottom-up strategy to reactivate the

of ten plateaus on the sloped site. Its key

quarter. The concept could be characterised

city against the backdrop of the European

statement is the resilience of urban form in

as a festivalisation, linking intelligently strategy

cultural capital in 2018. By countering the

time, a statement that tries to reinterpret past

and tactics by a series of manoeuvres in time

shortage of hotel rooms for this event with

typologies in a new assemblage, mingling both

and space. They consist in the creation of

the current vacancies in the area, a synergy is

intimacy and monumentality.

an autonomous administration for the site, a

created that re-dynamises the centre. Locals

Beyond mixity
Besides the questions of strategy and form,
there is the art of dynamic programming,
or what could be called the design of the
process. Uses, actors, temporality, all these
often maverick parameters have to be taken
in consideration to create a projects alchemy.
As the commonly used and until now proved
standard operation procedures tend not to
work correctly anymore, there is a need for
new solutions. The most interesting proposals
tackle the question on both edges. On the one
hand, the perpetuation of ephemeral events to
activate a site, a kind of a permanent revolution;
on the other hand, the creation of collective
structures and new forms of governance,

24 - BORDEAUX (FR), RUNNER-UP - LES GRANDES MANUVRES > SEE CATALOGUE P.36

27

Adapting adaptability
The prize-winning projects as a whole propose,
independently of the individual site, a range
of options on how to deal with voids, less
determined by the character, the situation
or the size of the individual situation than
by the authors conceptual approach. Their
points of view determine the creation of a
specific arrangement, a new story or a flexible
framework to start a future development. It
is also interesting to better understand the
choice of the winning entries to read the jury
reports. They clearly state whether they search,
in some cases, for radical innovation, or, on
other sites, for pragmatic realism.
And then, listening to the cities representatives
and their motivations helps understand a lot
about current trends in the debate about urban
planning procedures. It leads to a crucial
question: How to use Europan? In some cities,
the specific format helps gain time, cool down
25 - LEEUWARDEN (NL), WINNER - TE HUUR > SEE CATALOGUE P.47

a hectic and premature debate, think carefully

and consciously about the future of a site,

and trans-locals are mixed, the new inhabitants

as an intermediate body in-between the

without the pressure of a classic competition.

bring new activities, an ambitious plan whose

municipal authorities and the individual private

Other cities, on the contrary, understand

directness is both intriguing and striking. The

stakeholders to federate them and integrate

Europan as a tool to speed up interminable

runner-up in Metz Cycles-Sol-Air, builds its

them in a common process, providing a

and fruitless arguments, as a Jack-in-the-

program on priorities, necessary measures to

framework for future negotiations in order to

box-like game changer to suddenly put a site

activate the site, so-called permanences as

initiate the necessary development.

on the map and create a buzz to break up a

lasting programs and a proposal of not less

blocked situation. This is probably the most

than 128 alternances, temporary events largely

incredible quality of Europan, the possibility

inspired by what happens on Tempelhof.

to adjust the format according to the specific

As an example of the attempts to conceive

conditions on the site.

new models of living together, the runner-up

Adaptability also can be adaptable.

in Bergen Mllendal West (fig.26), proposes

a non-profit housing strategy that challenges
the traditional property development in Norway.
The project proposes an intermediate density
between the centre and the areas of detached
homes, thus aiming to create an urban
neighbourhood both in terms of space and of
a careful reflection on communities and their
necessary diversity. Even if the expression is
rather modest, the proposal tries to raise a
relevant political discussion on the modalities
of production of subsidised housing. The
search for alternative governance is also
tackled in the winning project in Genve La ville
intermdiaire, with the imagination of a legalorganisational interface that is neither public
nor private, but takes the form of a collective
charter. The authors imagine this structure

26 - BERGEN (NO), RUNNER-UP - MLLENDAL WEST > SEE CATALOGUE P.32

28

HOW TO TRANSFORM PHYSICAL

OBSTACLES INTO NEW CONNECTIONS?

29

30

AGLAE DEGROS, co-founder of Artgineering,

an urban design agency in Rotterdam (NL) and Brussels (BE).
Cosmopolis guest professor in the department of Geography at
Vrije Universiteit Brussels. Member of Europans Scientific Council.
www.artgineering.nl

MATHIAS ROLLOT, Doctor in Architecture,

investigating-commissioner and co-founder of LAMAA
(Latelier pour le Maintien dune Architecture Artisanale), Paris (FR).
Member of Europans Technical Committee.
www.lamaa.org

Physical and Strategic Obstacles to Revitalisation

France embodies everything religious zealots

This fine passage published in the New York

Todays city is, more than ever, a fragmented

everywhere hate: enjoyment of life here on

Times following the attacks of November 13

territory marked by numerous physical and

earth in a myriad little ways: a fragrant cup of

is about France, but it also sums up the very

nonphysical fractures.

coffee and a buttery croissant in the morning,

essence of European urban life. It touches us

Some of the fractures mentioned above are

beautiful women in short dresses smiling freely

as urban designers and architects because it is

clearly obstacles inherited from the European

on the street, the smell of warm bread, a bottle

a reminder of how in Europe we have created a

citys industrial past: rail infrastructure, large-

of wine shared with friends, a dab of perfume,

spatial environment suited to a free and open

scale road infrastructure and river structures.

children playing in the Luxembourg Gardens,

way of life: streets lined with caf terraces,

For its part, modern urban design has treated

the right not to believe in any god, not to worry

squares where events are staged, parks where

them as boundaries that define areas.

about calories, to flirt and smoke and enjoy sex

children play

Canarias Avenue in Palma (ES), a six-lane

outside marriage, to take vacations, to read any

For this free and open way of life to be able

barrier, separates the beach area from the

book you like, to go to school for free, to play,

to develop, the city is constantly adapted,

residential fabric (fig.2). In this approach to

to laugh, to argue, to make fun of prelates and

regenerated, reinvented. And there is no

urbanism, spatial distribution is based on the

politicians alike, to leave worrying about the

doubt that the challenges it faces today

setting of surfaces and boundaries. It is not

afterlife to the dead

demographic, economic, sociological,

well suited to our contemporary, post-industrial

ecological entail enormous changes; it has

era, in which it is connection that is considered

to tackle its weaknesses and failures while

to be fundamental.

retaining the territorial strengths that give free

This is an issue that the French philosopher

rein to urban life.

Edgar Morin covers extensively in his work.

While these weaknesses are primarily social,

Explaining in LaMthode that knowing is

we should not forget that many cities are,

first about being able to distinguish, and

at this time, places in crisis1, with extreme

then linking what has been distinguished,

social and economic divisions, where wealthy

he emphasises the value of the link and the

and luxurious neighbourhoods sit alongside

fact that complexity, which characterises our

dingy areas with very high levels of poverty

modern world and the kind of thinking it needs,

and unemployment, with the emergence

comes from the Latin word complexus

of unprecedented urban violence, like the

which means binding. There is no doubt that

assaults committed on the concourse of

this is the biggest current challenge facing

Cologne station during the 2016 New Year

our profession, to create links between the

festivities. Many cities need to deal with their

fragments of the city so that life can freely

own spatial weaknesses, whether arising

unfold in it.

from growth, decline, or simply geographical

In the category of projects submitted for the

location. These difficulties take a number

Europan 13competition How to transform

of forms. First, there is the position of the

physical obstacles into new connections?the

railway, which divides the city into different

entrants and winners all clearly identified

entities: from the part in front of the station

the fragments of cities to be linked, caused

to the more neglected part behind, from the

by the physical obstacles. Most of these

part that is too close and therefore affected

fragments were in fact clearly indicated in the

by noise, to the part that is too far away to

site descriptions. Most of the entrants also

benefit Then there are river crossings,

subscribed to the post-industrial urbanistic

which can cause segregation between left

vision of creating links between the fragments.

and right bank, like the Allier in Moulins (FR)

It was in the implementation of the strategy

which creates a sharp division between centre

that they differed, choosing between three

and periphery (fig.1). Or there are the roads,

categories of approach: Using construction

which produce such environmental problems

to reconnect and regenerate; Drawing on

that they damage local quality of life and are

local dynamics to create links; Revealing and

unhealthy to live near

modelling the specific potential of boundaries.

1 - MOULINS (FR)

2 - PALMA (ES)

31

Using construction
to reconnect
and regenerate (fig.3)

new dialogue between city and nature and

to examine the territorial identity that may
arise from this exchange. It was in this effort
to redirect the city towards the sea and to

Among these winning projects, a first group

reassemble the landscape-puzzle that the

of responses chose as their solution the

team conceived Seaside Boulevard (fig.4),

design of a large-scale architectural or urban

Forming a circular shape that is both a matrix

ensemble. Their response to the multiple risks

connected with the existing fabric and at the

of segregation is to commit to a city of sharing.

same time a promotional space for potential

Our examples for this group are the winning

future developments, this boulevard acts as a

projects on the St-Brieuc (FR), Os (NO), Irn

tool that helps to span the difficult geography

(ES), Bamberg (DE) and Graz (AT) sites. To

that characterises the town. A structuring

begin with St-Brieuc, the winning project

narrative that forms the basis for multiple

here looked at the possibility of establishing

potential openings, it is also a symbolic

new connections between the large-scale

proposal, which seeks to transform not only

mobility networks, the territory and the coastal

practices but also the imaginative experience

landscape. The quest here is to establish a

of the place.

4 - SAINT-BRIEUC (FR), WINNER - SEASIDE BOULEVARD > SEE CATALOGUE P.116

3 - USING CONSTRUCTION

32

5 - OS (NO), WINNER - OSURBIA - REDEFINING SUBURBIA > SEE CATALOGUE P.107

In a somewhat similar way, in Os, the winning

dwelling, the car park, the shopping centre,

The runner-up project Ura Eta Natura (fig.6),

project also proposes working between

the gas station, cultural identity and the

stresses the importance of thinking about urban

mobility structures and built fabric. On this site,

structural axis. This is how Osurbia - Redefining

transformation in terms of natural ecosystems

the task was to transform a small, disparate

Suburbia (fig.5) seeks to respond to future

and a productive inhabited landscape. It

fabric that was blocking a dialogue between

demographic change in Os, while at the same

therefore incorporates the station site into

the town centre and the seafront: how could

time preserving its identity in a possible move

reflections and studies relating to a larger

this place become a new area capable of

towards an osurbia capable of physically

geographical area, approaching the need to

reconnecting a fabric and disconnected

crossing the existing obstacles and forming

cross the rails as only part of a necessary set

banks? In an exploration of the meaning of

an attractive new urban polarity.

of reconnection projects situated at different

suburban, the team identifies and proposes

For Irn, the task was to work on the relation

places and different scales. In this way, it

to reinterpret 6 specific icons: the individual

between the city and its large rail centre.

demonstrates that there is no incompatibility

6 - IRN (ES), RUNNER-UP - URA ETA NATURA > SEE CATALOGUE P.93

33

7 - BAMBERG (DE), WINNER - TRADITION : ADAPTION : VERKNUEPFUNG > SEE CATALOGUE P.79

between the need for physical connection, a

this, the claim made by Tradition: Adaptation:

dense urban fabric, and landscape quality and

Verknuepfung (fig.7) is that it is by focusing on

the presence of nature.

the development of the district itself that the

In Bamberg, the goal was to work out new

problems of disconnection caused by the rails

dynamics between the town centre, the station

can be resolved.

and the fast developing Bamberg East district.

Libramont too faces problems in matching

The question was how to fit in with the changes

rail infrastructure to urban fabric. The special

already underway, and pursue and reinforce the

mention project 50 Shades of green (fig.8),

processes of revitalising this large, disparate

proposes densifying the competition site

urban fabric. To answer this question, the

through further construction. Grasping the

winning team focused its efforts on highlighting

possibility of building on either side of the

an urban project capable of improving the

rail front, it proposes the creation of a new,

structure of the built fabric, establishing new

relatively dense district, with an emphasis on

public spaces, offering a wider choice in

urban agriculture. In this, it too seems to wish

terms of mobility and programme, while at

to show how the issue is not just one of rail

the same time unifying the neighbourhood

crossings and station access, but also of giving

within a new, more legible structure. In all

meaning to the whole urban area around.

8 - LIBRAMONT (BE), SPECIAL MENTION - 50 SHADES OF GREEN > SEE CATALOGUE P.97

34

10 - DRAWING ON DYNAMICS

conceives and presents its proposals within

a unified perspective. Through this distinctive
interpretative framework, the winning team
proposes in The Theory of Evolution (fig.12)
nine different initiatives ranging from the

9 - GRAZ (AT), WINNER - WALZER > SEE CATALOGUE P.87

architectural conversion of sheds to the

In Graz, finally, the municipality was looking for

In the case of Gjakova, the objective is to

planting of trees, from the invention of a

a proposal for the conversion of a site situated

grasp the potential offered by the watersides.

viewpoint-slide to the installation of an

in front of the railway line and the station. Here,

Currently unused despite their advantageous

amphibious neighbourhood or houses on

the physical fracture caused by the railway

urban location right in the heart of the town

stilts. In each case, the idea is the same:

line was minimised by the winning project

can these docks be redeveloped at limited

with a renewed dialogue between the wider

Walzer (fig.9), by means of a very thorough

cost? To prove it, the winning team (fig.11)

landscape and human habitat, they propose

multifunctional programme. Simultaneously

highlights the capacity of cultural activities and

a set of interventions to revitalise local

hybrid and unitary, durable and adaptable,

events to promote temporary uses of the place,

activity and enhance the relationship with the

assertive and discreet, the formal proposition

with little need for initial facilities or physical

obstacle of the River Allier.

ignores paradoxes to offer a high quality

transformations. By identifying areas capable

While it is not the river that is the issue in

architectural ensemble. It is by giving a new

of accommodating concerts, summer film

Ingolstadt, but rather the problem of urban

reason for crossing the railway line, it might

screenings or seasonal markets, SEAMbiosis

devitalisation and the need to introduce new

be said, that the project spots the possibility

makes a persuasive case: from small elements

force into the relationship between mobility

for a more successful connection with the

inserted here and there (wooden decking,

and urban quality, once again it is a unificatory

town centre, and convinces in its design of a

built-in benches, treasure hunts, etc.),

approach that characterises the winning

structuring element for the metamorphosis of

substantial urban dynamics could emerge.

Waldstrasse project. Suggesting 25 different,

the district.

The riverbanks at Moulins were also one

localised actions (setting aside a space for

of the sites in this sessions competition.

events, adding new bus stops, redrawing the

Drawing on local
dynamics to create
links (fig.10)

Larger in scale, and creating a much greater

profile of the streets, etc.) on a unified ground

discontinuity between the two sides of the

space, the proposal seeks to turn the main

river, these banks undoubtedly constitute a

street into a more attractive linear park, where

missed opportunity. Drawing on a theoretical

pedestrian mobility can become more than

alignment between Lamarcks transformism

an environmentally desirable way of moving

Every one of these submissions shows the

and Darwins evolutionism, the project

around by generating new urban practices.

capacity of the teams to propose a highquality urban-architectural solution, capable of

creating links beyond the obstacle in question,
but also more broadly to regenerate not only the
urban sites presented for the competition but
also their surrounding areas. In quite a different
way, a second set of proposals chose to tackle
the obstacles by focusing instead on the local
and micro scale, networking and bottom-up
processes. Innumerable responses took this
approach. Here, we will look at the winning
projects on the sites in Gjakova (KO), Moulins
(FR) and Ingolstadt (DE), and show how all
these winning projects, whether rhizomatic,
thematic or conceptual, are strategies that
focus on stimulating citizen involvement in
order to link and revitalise the sites.

11 - GJAKOVA (KO), WINNER - SEAMBIOSIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.83

35

12 - MOULINS (FR), WINNER - THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.103

Revealing and
modelling the specific
potential of boundaries
(fig.13)

Finally, a third category of responses invites

analysis. These consist of the winning
proposals for the sites in A Corua (ES),
Palma (ES), Seinjoki (FI) and Marne-laValle (FR). In their consideration of the
specific architectural and urban potentials

So as we can see, each of these winners, in its

associated with boundaries (whether a coast,

own way, devises other forces of development

a motorway or a railway line), these projects

with the capacity to overcome the real,

seem to have the capacity to devise distinctive

symbolic or imaginary obstacles that urban

arrangements suited to the site concerned and

dynamics can encounter. And, insofar as they

their problems.

were able to consider the proposed themes

of self-organisation vs. welfare state and
object vs. project, they constitute entities
that reveal new project trends and practices
in Europe.

13 - REVEALING AND MODELLING THE POTENTIAL

36

14 - PALMA (ES), WINNER - SALVEMOS EL HORIZONTE > SEE CATALOGUE P.111

In Palma, the task was to rethink the

the winning project Ville N(M)ature (fig.16)

(establishment of alternative economic

citys relationship to the sea. What urban

explores the history of the location to highlight

arrangements, development of management

arrangements could replace the current

the great strength of this territory located at the

structures, etc.).

major road to accommodate a set of more

interface between city and nature. Developing

Therefore, although all the projects propose

sustainable and desirable forms of mobility,

the multiple ways in which this boundary

spatial solutions to the crossing of physical

better able to connect the built fabric with the

situation could be better presented, it seeks

obstacles, they also combine these solutions

seafront? The winning project Salvemos el

to introduce a more resilient urban form, with

with nonphysical strategies.

horizonte (fig.14), chooses to work with the

better managed interfaces, by proposing

In all this, the projects often consider more than

sites distinctive feature: the horizon. Arguing

new uses (housing, observation places,

the spatial framework alone, acquiring a social,

that one of the objectives lies in the non-

arrangements of public space, etc.) for the

economic and even ecological dimension.

construction of the site, the project redraws

green lane produced by this metamorphosis.

Similarly, the notion of adaptability has not

street profiles that are more hospitable to

Also an opportunity to reinitiate the architectural

been understood simply in its functional

walking and suitable for the creation of a

experiments that may have accompanied the

sense, but has been employed more broadly

genuinely shared public space.

creation of these new towns, argues the team.

by the teams, to encompass the temporal,

For this session, the town of A Corua proposed

In short, combating powerful processes of

structural, or even symbolic dimension. Each

a complex site, a large heterogeneous fabric

compartmentalisation through a revitalisation

of these axes constitutes a new approach to

between a major road infrastructure and a

strategy that once again entails the highlighting

the understanding and conception of human

waterfront. The question was what status and

and development of the particular situations

settlements and their metamorphoses.

future should be devised for this territory with

created by the physical obstacle, rather than

its multiple identities, and what crossings to

necessarily crossing it at all costs.

introduce in order to make access easier. The

Nice to Sea You project won the competition

By way of conclusion, we would note that these

projects are (in the large majority) extremely

Adaptable urbanities,
between ambition and
practicality

modest and pragmatic: no big engineering

host leisure, production, housing or mobility

One may begin by concluding that although

at the Cities and Juries Forum. However, in

systems, the proposal also sought to show

the winners propose to introduce built

these gloomy times, one may perhaps regret

the economic credibility (notably in terms of

structures to regenerate the city, they do not

the absence of fantasy and ambition, a hint

attractiveness and therefore the potential for

see these structures as finished objects but

of folly that could give us food for dreaming

public-private partnerships) of such ideas in

rather as projects that progress in stages.

in the future? More than ever, it is important to

stimulating productivity.

In other words, this is less about fixed

argue perhaps a little too loudly in favour

In Seinjoki, the potential of the boundary

objects than projects that evolve, adapt, are

of ambition for quality of life, openness and

revealed by the winning project (fig.15) was

constructed gradually.

freedom for the European city, It is our task

quite different; Notch sees a site that calls for

In fact, the awareness of economic

to imagine and implement urban spaces that

a remodelling of the relationship between a

uncertainties, but also of the difficulty of

are ethically committed to what constitutes

station and its surroundings as an invitation

implementing turnkey projects on sites

the strength of our shared urban virtues:

to architectural invention: what does it mean

containing obstacles and therefore involving

their capacity to accommodate both the

to live and work every day by the railway

numerous actors (road companies, rail

singularity of the individual and the breadth

line, and how can architecture itself be

companies, river management bodies)

of the universal.

open to this specific situation? The winning

encouraged the winners not only to develop

team responds, in particular, with a set of

phased implementation processes, but

hexagonal geometries as a matrix for new

also to propose solutions that recruit the

housing typologies perhaps more suited to

various existing and potential actors of urban

the conditions of life by a railway line.

production, to devise innovative participatory

In response to the discontinuity caused by the

processes, and finally to create new openings

divisive road infrastructures in Marne-la-Valle,

for possible catalysts for implementation

by proposing a phased process in which this

unproductive zone would be converted
into a productive territory. Drawing on this
leitmotif to enhance the areas capacities to

or architectural gestures, instead frugal and

contextualised strategies Something that
was undoubtedly much appreciated by the
municipalities present for the discussions

OVINK, H, INTERVIEW VAI, 2015

37

15 - SEINJOKI (FI), WINNER - NOTCH > SEE CATALOGUE P.119

16 - MARNE-LA-VALLE (FR), WINNER - VILLE N(M)ATURE > SEE CATALOGUE P.99

38

HOW TO USE NEW INPUTS

TO CHANGE URBAN SPACE?

39

40

SOCRATES STRATIS, Doctor in Architecture, urbanist,

associate professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Cyprus.
He is one of the founding members of the collaborative structure AA & U for
architecture, art and urbanism and a member of Europans Scientific Council.
www.socratesstratis.com
www.aaplusu.com

Negotiate as You Go Along:

Infrastructures for Shared Hybrid Territories

1 - BONDY (FR)

2 - STAVANGER (NO)

3 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE)

4 - VERNON (FR)

5 - MOLFETTA (IT)

6 - ESPOO (FI)

The article is an investigation about the

with reduced public presence and need of

infrastructural role of Europan 13 winning

community spirit. The second category is

projects in enhancing shared hybrid

about areas part of large territorial figures,

territories. Such territories have multi-

such as riverbanks (fig.4)Vernon (FR), former

geographic realities resulting from urban

industrial waterfronts (fig.5) Trondheim (NO),

transport network connections and incoming

Molfetta (IT), or natural landscapes (fig.6)

programs while transformed by all sorts of

Espoo (FI), Landsberg (DE), pressured by

on-site localities. The projects unfold their

increasing private development and threatened

political virtue by proposing gradual change of

by decreasing local community role. The third

relations amongst the projects actors, hence

group is about rather isolated areas, some

influencing how new incoming urban dynamics

with community activity (fig.7) Lund (SE),

inputs may transform the competition sites

Montreuil (FR), Santo Tirso (PT) confronted to

into shared hybrid territories. The tensions

potential overwhelming metropolitan flows due

may arise due to potential conflicts between

to imminent connections to agglomerations

rather broadened architectures shift in terms

on-site urban actors agendas and those of the

transport networks (fig.8) St Plten (AT).

of communication, project development and

incoming ones. Europan projects challenge is

therefore to become negotiation apparatus in

7 - SANTO TIRSO (PT)

8 - ST PLTEN (AT)

project outcome. Price invested in participatory moments thanks to the adaptable nature of

within an increasing segregated world; and

The Europan project

in changing times:
from participation
to negotiation

third, allowing for new relations and negotiating

The expression Negotiate As You Go Along

by the Inter-Action collective2.

moments between the urban actors during

could draw references from practices back in

Going back to Europan 13, the winning teams

project making where urban fragmentation is

the 1960s and 1970s, such as that of Cedric

are investing in participatory moments thanks

growing. In fact, this article departs from the

Price collaboration with Inter-Action, an alterna-

to the invisible technology of the urban project

last objective to shortly revisit the other two.

tive theatre collective, to build the Inter-Action

as well as to the visible one of the architectural

The Europan 13 hosting sites of such new

Centre, allowing him to investigate the role of

object, both being quite decisive for the

inputs are grouped in three categories. The

architectural practice in changing times with

co-production of shared hybrid territories.

first one is about large mono-functional areas,

the emergence of mass media, mass consum

of big box urbanism (fig.1) Bondy (FR),

erism and mass housing. In fact, Price attri-

The task at hand involves working in different

Wien (AT), of fossil fuel industries (fig.2)

buted negotiating capacities to architecture by

scales and with a diverse set of mechanisms

Stavanger (NO), or of former military camps

opening up the design process into a collective

blending urban planning, programming,

and actual teachers and school centre (fig.3)

platform, inviting for participation. According to

operative and recreational landscapes,

Schwbisch Gmnd (DE); most of them

Tanja Herdt1, he found himself exposed in a

infrastructure and communication.

the hands of the urban actors for the adaptable

city in, first fostering the presence of the public
domain when there is decreasing absence of
the Welfare State; second, promoting sharing

Inter-Actions infrastructure based on a flexible

technical building system. However, the results
were rather questionable due to the incompat
ibility of the high-tech building infrastructure
with the low-tech labour contribution intended

41

10 - BONDY (FR), WINNER - BONDYS COUNT

> SEE CATALOGUE P.135

neutrality, are called to articulate the demand

of citizens participation without making their
own stance explicit. He goes on to state that
successful citizenship demands reorganization
of institutions to have participation imbedded in
their decision making, such as the recent case
of Barcelona Municipality.

A multiagency
approach to enhance
the public: between
strategies of infiltration
and tactics
of revalorization
of the existing
in fact, the winning projects under study employ
a multiagency approach to cope with such
dilemmas and set up negotiating frameworks
to initiate sharing within hybrid territories. The
9 - STAVANGER (NO), WINNER - FORUS LABING > SEE CATALOGUE P.175

point of departure of the projects depends on

the state of things in regards to the competi-

Reading the abovementioned excerpt from

therefore call citizens to find a solution. Second,

tion sites and briefs. In some cases when the

Stavangers competition brief, quoted by

he refers to a misunderstood concept of

incoming global flows of people and activities

winning team Forus LABing (fig.9), we are

citizens participation that addresses a specific

are dominant, as in the first group of sites of

witnessing a shift of architectural practice

set of people, since bankers and developers

mono-functional uses, the projects are about

such as the one confronted by Price. The new

who are citizens too have plenty of access to

strategies of infiltration to enhance public and

shift however demands for complex operations

decision making unlike many others; besides,

collective uses winners in Bondy and Wien

and alliances beyond the architectures field.

they would not be very happy of sharing power.

(fig.10 & 11). In other cases, where there is

By using the concept of negotiation we are

Third, he refers to agents who, on the name of

community life which may be challenged by the

bringing forward the aspects of participation

that are internal to design processes and
contain a level of power shift among the project
actors. In fact, we aim to surpass pitfalls of
the participatory paradigm being used in
neutralizing conflict and diminishing the risks of
investment by limiting public protest, as Jeremy
Till mentions3. In fact, we embrace his claim
that participation should be about distribution
of power in the co-production of the city. Further
on, geographer Erik Swyngedow4 addresses
the myths of participation of which we need
to be aware of. He first argues that the call
for participation is a symptom of democratic
dysfunction institutions do not work and they

11 - WIEN (AT), WINNER - PUBLICQUARTIER > SEE CATALOGUE P.187

42

12 - LUND (SE), RUNNER-UP - MONSTER PLANNING > SEE CATALOGUE P.150

14 - VERNON (FR), WINNER - INSCABLE DISTANCE

> SEE CATALOGUE P.183
13 - MONTREUIL (FR), SPECIAL MENTION - OULIPO > SEE CATALOGUE P.158

Emerging modes
of collective practices
thanks to synergies
between processand object-oriented
approaches

process initiating and suggesting exchanges

Further on, we can see projects that consider

To encourage collective practices the main

Inscable distance, winner in Vernon and

the new transport nodes as initiators of such

ingredient of shared hybrid territories we

seacoasts Espoo, opening up new kinds of

hybrid territories Culture Symbiotic, winner in

may need to rely on new ways of negotiation,

sharing. The winning project in Molfetta, Hold

Lund (fig.15); Navigable Collections, runner-

initiated thanks to synergies between object-

the Line, employs a sort of stripped down

up in Vernon. In some other cases, the project

and process-oriented approaches. We

urban Inter-Action centre to accommodate

teams hold on the presence of agglomeration

may then avoid what Swyngedow mentions

a communitys everydayness along a public

mobility networks to discourage the creation

in regards to the neverending processes

waterfront. In the case of the runner-up project

of isolated communities Serendipity of Fields,

usually employed by urbanists as well as to

in Trondheim, More Trondheim! (fig.19), we

runner-up in Montreuil (fig.16); Living With(In)

the authoritarian object placing by architects,

see existing industrial buildings as shelters

Nature, winner in Landsberg; Nodes, runner-up

unaware of its political implications. Amongst

for public activities. In the same project,

in Schw

bisch Gm

nd (fig.17), or create addi-

the E13 winning projects, we can see a

the reorganization to medium size plots

tional hosting space for incoming immigrant

diversity of approaches that employ new

becomes another way to ensure the presence

communities The Elastic City, runner-up in St

relations between processes and objects to

of city-scale activities, keeping out big box

Plten.

achieve sharing within hybrid territories, by

interventions. In the case of Wien the winning

departing either from an object placing or a

project, Publicquartier, reestablishes the role

incoming metropolitan flows Lund, Montreuil

the project teams choose to concentrate on
tactics of revalorization of the unseen virtues
of the local everydayness and show how they
could play a new role in such hybrid territories
Monster Planning runner-up in Lund (fig.12);
OuLiPo, special mention in Montreuil (fig.13);
Inscable distance, winner in Vernon (fig.14).

15 - LUND (SE), WINNER - CULTURE SYMBIOTIC

> SEE CATALOGUE P.149

among them during design processes.

In some cases the architectural object gets a
central role in defining the space of collective
practices, either through its uniqueness or
its repetition The False Mirror, winner in
Trondheim (fig.18). In other cases it gets a
symbolic value of the communitys presence
along territorial figures such as rivers

16 - MONTREUIL (FR), RUNNER-UP - SERENDIPITY OF FIELDS > SEE CATALOGUE P.157

43

17 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE), RUNNER-UP - NODES > SEE CATALOGUE P.166

of public space as the enactment of any city

of the habitat for negotiation processes. The

Negotiate as You Go Along is an urge to

centre by proposing the gradual demolition

ground gets super-surface characteristics

rethink the technology of architectural practice

of a city block by the train station, adjacent

to maximize flexibility, where plug-in towers

and its contribution in the urban project

to a dominating shopping mall. Publicquartier

increase the critical mass of inhabitants to yield

operating in complex hybrid territories. Issues

initiates creative synergies between public and

new communities.

of communication, project development and

collective by strategically locating a habitat to

negotiate the districts urban future.
Process initiating by the project teams may get
a playful mode. This is the case of Bondys
Count, winner in Bondy, where a game-like
negotiation takes place, during which the city
should gain infiltration into the competition
site by gradually acquiring left-over spaces

outcome are indeed at the heart of architectural

Negotiation thresholds
for gradual increase
of sharing
in co-producing
the adaptable city

practices shift. Europan is a pertinent platform

to study the tendencies of change but also of
reappearance of approaches. Addressing the
challenge of participation through the concept
of negotiation has shown that the Europan 13
projects could operate as platforms to change
relations among divergent urban actors in
creating shared hybrid territories.

as well as left-over times from the big box

operational everydayness. The community

Negotiate as You Go Along the Process of

would initially emerge by the ephemeral

Making the Europan Project is a notification

activities and on a second game round, by

to all actors for the gradual increase of sha-

a reorganization of the ground inviting big box

ring of project making. Their passage through

actors to address the intermediate scale and

many negotiation thresholds would alter their

the introduction of a diversity of activities. To

initial agendas towards a common final out-

empower a structured negotiation process,

come. Such approach seems to be frequent

a special mention on the same site, Les

among the winning teams, which have deli-

nouvelles dynamiques, offers a well-devised

vered complex packages of proposals, full of

methodology to infiltrate public and community

negotiating moments. Negotiation is ready to

activities within the site, encouraging the big

take place when the project teams revalorize

box urbanism to adapt. The team offers a

the existing sites assets Monster Planning

precedence catalogue, very handy to support

in Lund, and redefine the competition briefs

controversial dialogues (evidence based

priorities Forus LABing in Stavanger. Negotia-

urbanism). In Stavanger, the winning project,

tion is imminent when they propose roadmaps

Forus LABing, encourages the development of

to the project actors for assisted itineraries

a networked collectivity guided by a complex

through processes with uncertain outcome

CENTRE OF CEDRIC PRICE, IN CONFERENCE ARCHITECTURE

strategy of management and design into

Les nouvelles dynamiques, special mention in

AS MATTER OF CONTENTION, AACHEN, 2015

visualizing transformative processes for urban

Bondy or when they make visible the complex

ID.

futures of the actual mono-functional fossil

networks of relations and powers of the actors

INTERVIEW PUBLISHED IN MONU MAGAZINE (NO 23, 2015)

industry area. Innovation Palaces is the name

at stake Bondys Count, winner in Bondy.

AESOP CONFERENCE, PRAGUE, 2015

18 - TRONDHEIM (NO), WINNER - THE FALSE MIRROR > SEE CATALOGUE P.179

19 - TRONDHEIM (NO), RUNNER-UP - MORE TRONDHEIM!

> SEE CATALOGUE P.180

ARCHITECTURE AS NEGOTIATION: THE INTER-ACTION

44

CARLOS ARROYO, linguist, architect, urbanist, teacher in Madrid (ES)

and member of Europans Scientific Council.
He is the founder and director of Carlos Arroyo Arquitectos.
www.carlosarroyo.net

New Inputs, New Public Spaces

the canal, both as productive resources and
as material textures that are able to create an
identity. Furniture production is combined with
its commercial lines; the canal is a working
means of low carbon transportation for the
wood, at the same time as it provides a linear
pedestrian leisure area; the covered piazza
provides a node, and encourages people to

1 - BONDY (FR)

3 - ESPOO (FI)

New inputs, game changing new infrastruc-

road, it had been evolving from light industry

tures, new connections, renovated economic

to a combination of production and commercial

forces, strategic implementations, or simply

(fig.1). Now, new bus lines will bring a different

new considerations in an existing and function

kind of public, populating a strip of canal side

ing area, offer an opportunity for negotiation

which, at the larger scale, is being transformed

between the new and the existing that can

into a pedestrian network of semi-urban areas.

generate innovative contexts for interaction,

The special mention project Re_Bondying

In the site in Espoo (FI) a natural society of

new kinds of public spaces.

(fig.2) identifies an industrial building that

birds, squirrels and trees, quoting from

In the resulting transformation, the existing

can easily be transformed into a covered

the citys documents, will need to absorb

adapts to accommodate the new input, and

public space. This is a relatively new way to

a growing program of university buildings,

a richer, denser, more elaborate constellation

understand public space, which we have seen

including student housing (fig.3). The new

emerges.

implemented in other similar contexts with a

buildings need to respect a bird sanctuary and

high degree of success (e.g. le de Nantes). If

squirrel habitats, with which they will need to

The interior of an
industrial building
turned into
a covered piazza

the structure was not there in the first place, the

integrate.

idea of a covered but open public space might

Many of the answers are based on a number

not be financially viable. On the other hand, a

of introverted buildings, dotted amongst the

piazza sheltered from the rain and protected

trees, with a minimum of interaction with the

from the wind is an ideal meeting point in this

surroundings via a pedestrian connecting

kind of latitude.

line, like a path in the forest. In the case of

Consider the site in Bondy (FR), a strip of land

The team takes this further by proposing

the winning proposal, Wild Synapse (fig.4), the

between the canal and a parallel line of more

reused wood for the cladding, as part of a

buildings are indeed like trees, self-centred,

modern infrastructure. Known as the furniture

holistic strategy that works with wood and

their volumes made up of a myriad small

visit the place regardless of the weather; the

resulting is a rich mix of productive urbanity.

Introverted
intermediate spaces

branches. In the runner-up project Prske

(fig.5) the buildings are rather more mineral,

2 - BONDY (FR), SPECIAL MENTION - RE_BONDYING > SEE CATALOGUE P.136

5 - ESPOO (FI), RUNNER-UP - PRSKE > SEE CATALOGUE P.140

45

6 - LANDSBERG (DE)

4 - ESPOO (FI), WINNER - WILD SYNAPSE > SEE CATALOGUE P.139

8 - SANTO-TIRSO (PT)

like abstract crystal cubes in the landscape.

building, separated from the ground, linking the

(fig.7), creates an interface between the

In both cases, the question is where to foresee

various constructions at the level of the canopy.

currently built-up area (former barracks turned

the necessary intermediate shared spaces,

The partial screening allows for a restrained

business centre) and the new development

so important for student housing, without

integration of the human environment in the

(housing and recreation related to the former)

interfering with the existing natural society.

forest, as an optimized compromise between

which could be described as a fragmentation

The ground floor, or the space between

the need to restrain construction in the wildlife

of the green infrastructure associated with an

buildings, must be free of public functions as

and at the same time enjoying the outstanding

existing flow of water, breaking it up with a new

this would mean too much of a disruption in

position of the tree houses.

geometry, so that it can be used as a collection

the ecosystems where the constructions are

erected. The response of both proposals is

of public spaces with different scales: from the

Fragmented nature

garden, to the park, to the landscape.

introverted, and separated from the ground.

In Prske, the mineral project, the intermediate

The challenge in Landsberg (DE) is also about

rectangular pools, maintaining the continuity

spaces are in the core of the hard geometric

widening the footprint of an existing human

while becoming perfectly permeable; the

volume. The strictness of the cubic form is

settlement (fig.6). The new constructions are

pools are staggered to one side and the other,

broken up towards the isolated, defended,

expected to find a balance with the natural

defining a variety of open spaces, sometimes

interior space, with elements of domestic life

cycles of the surrounding area, but in this case

towards the business centre, sometimes

such as kitchens or dining rooms protruding

the target is not focused on the preservation of

towards the housing.

inwards, like the crystals inside a geode.

a specific ecosystem, but in the added value

The transversal pedestrian lines that run

In Wild Synapse the branch-like trellis partly

that an intensification of local ecosystems may

through the new housing and across the

screens the shared spaces from view, and

offer to the new development.

alignment of pools will be populated with trees,

these fly over from tree-building to tree-

The winning proposal, Living With(in) Nature

to reconnect the patches of forest that were

The line of water becomes a succession of

razed down over the past times to clear land

for farmland.
A hybrid landscape emerges, with the centrality
of a public space between work and residence,
but integrated in the natural cycles and
infrastructure of the territory; with a fragmented
geometry that defines the proximity of the
urban, but with the continuity and variability of
a meandering flow of water.

Fragmented park
The question in Santo Tirso (PT) runs in the
opposite direction (fig.8). The site is a very
large area in a central urban context, formerly
a large market square and building, which has
lost its original function, and is now part of a
wider strategy of transformation of the inner
city. How to take advantage of the size and
7 - LANDSBERG (DE), WINNER - LIVING WITH(IN) NATURE > SEE CATALOGUE P.145

centrality of this vast open space?

46

9 - SANTO-TIRSO (PT), WINNER - FOODLAB SANTO TIRSO > SEE CATALOGUE P.161

10 - LUND (SE), SPECIAL MENTION - PLAYFUL PATH!

> SEE CATALOGUE P.151

The winning proposal, FOODlab Santo Tirso

open courtyards or enclosed piazzas, creating

Double landscape

(fig.9), is based on a simple but efficient

a gradient from public to private with a rich

In Molfetta (IT) the city brief states that The

device, a pergola that covers the whole open

collection of intermediate spaces that combine

activities that were supporting the local

space, but is cut out in organic forms to create

commercial and collective uses.

economy, especially those referred to the

smaller areas. The double scale of this device

The relation with the station is tangential; it

sea activities, are now downsized and the

ensures the continuity of the intervention

barely touches the playful path halfway, but on

waterfront needs to be reconsidered as a place

while offering individuals, collectives or

the side of its cross section. Walking or cycling

to live in, for locals, but also as a base for a

entrepreneurs through the fragmentation

to the station from any of the clusters can be

new economy based on innovative formats for

into almost domestic-sized enclosures in

envisaged as a pleasant and entertaining

tourism (fig.12).

varied oval forms different opportunities to

experience, with plenty of different scales and

The winning design, Hold the Line (fig.13)

find their place.

functions in the buildings and spaces along

addresses this issue in a literal manner,

the way.

establishing a framework for relations between

Playful path

On the other hand, the clusters are protected

locals and visitors on two levels that overlap

from the noise of passing trains by an

without mixing. A landscape of fishing town

The title of one of the special mentions in

embankment which builds a landscaped

is enhanced, while an abstract landscape of

Lund (SE), Playful Path! (fig.10), describes

horizon for the taller buildings along this side.

clean geometry is traced above it.

an interesting way to relate to the new input,

It is interesting to note that the station access is

The intervention is a lightweight structure of

in this case a railway station (fig.11). Rather

understated, a small cabin in this landscaped

fine straight lines that runs along the waterfront,

than focusing on the infrastructural node,

horizon, highlighting the connectivity factor

barely touching the ground, serving as an

the project proposes a collection of clusters

versus the heroic infrastructure approach of

elevated promenade, pedestrian and bicycle

running parallel to the tracks, and threaded

other proposals.

connection on a platform level, but also

by a pedestrian zig-zagging line that goes

framing and activating the ground level for

in and out of the clusters, turning them into

more static activities.

11 - LUND (SE)

12 - MOLFETTA (IT)

13 - MOLFETTA (IT), WINNER - HOLD THE LINE > SEE CATALOGUE P.153

47

15 - ST PLTEN (AT), WINNER - JU(MP) IN THE WATER - KISS THAT FROG > SEE CATALOGUE P.171

terrain. The intermediate land is developed

as a landscape of temporary public use,
until the time comes for it to be built up, with
strategically planted vegetation which will
grow in the process to be incorporated in the
housing development in the future.
14 - ST PLTEN (AT)

Tempered intermediate
space
Several kinds of new public space appear
in the winning proposal Forus LABing, the
winner in the site of Stavanger (NO), where
the question is how to use the resources
generated by oil to generate a viable lifestyle

16 - STAVANGER (NO)

Temporary public
landscapes

for the post-oil economy (fig.16).

One example is the covered space connecting

17 - STAVANGER (NO), WINNER - FORUS LABING

> SEE CATALOGUE P.175

different buildings, a lightweight greenhouselike construction, part of a strategy they define

using Reyner Banhams paraphrase The Well

In St Plten (AT) the news is that a former

Tempered Environment. This is an inexpensive

reserve of land is now ready to absorb a

way to create a viable public square in

rising demand of housing, which will be well

this cold latitude, but it is also a buffer to

connected to public transport and city services

facilitate climate comfort in the entrances of

(fig.14).

the buildings themselves; a lively public area

The winning proposal, Ju(MP) in the Water -

can be expected to thrive, even in the coldest

With the above examples we can see how

Kiss that Frog (fig.15) is based on the logical

periods (fig.17).

the negotiation between a new input and

assumption that the development of this large

At the scale of landscape, management of

an existing situation can generate a new

piece of land will not happen all in one go,

post oil industrial archaeology through colour

condition, a new context for interaction, new

and proposes a strategy to ensure that the

(white) can change a collective perception

kinds of public spaces.

intermediate situations are attractive. A series

of gloom into a desirable landscape identity

It is important to be alert and identify such

of foundational clusters are scattered over the

(fig.18).

new conditions of the public, as they are

Conclusion

the mainstay of the development of our

societies. When societies evolve, the written or
unwritten rules governing intermediate spaces
become richer and more sophisticated. The
development of a civilization depends on its
ability to find contexts to share and exchange
in deeper and safer ways, for successful
civilizations are those that achieved a balance
between the individual and the collective.
These projects have the potential to contribute
to the development of our societies by
18 - STAVANGER (NO), WINNER - FORUS LABING > SEE CATALOGUE P.175

exploring further fields for public exchange.

48

HOW TO CREATE POSITIVE

DYNAMICS FROM A DIFFICULT SITUATION?

49

50

CHRIS YOUNS, anthro-philosopher of inhabited milieux, teacher at Pariss

Ecole Speciale dArchitecture (ESA) and member of Europans Scientific
Council. Founder and member of the Gerphau research laboratory.
www.gerphau.wordpress.com/presentation-du-laboratoire/

JULIO DE LA FUENTE, architect, urbanist, co-founder

of Gutirrez-delaFuente Arquitectos, Madrid (ES) and guest teacher
in Spain and Germany. He is member of Europans Technical Committee.
www.gutierrez-delafuente.com

Regenerative Metamorphoses
of Inhabited Milieux and Project Culture
In situations of serious difficulty and

living and elemental urban entities need to be

sociopolitical forms of organisation, moulded

disorientation, the need for metamorphoses of

envisioned with appropriate food-producing

by dynamics of interweaving: the key is to

inhabited milieux is all the greater in problem

activities (market gardening, agricultural parks,

be able to adjust to conditions, to adapt to

situations and emphasises how the project

woodland, meadows, vines, urban farms,

local situations with their specificities, rather

can make use of the vitalising resources of the

green roofs, shared gardens), directed at

than making a tabula rasa or sticking to

milieu. What it means is giving up predatory

permaculture, short supply chains, protection

pre-established recipes. The combination

practices and devising mixed, immersive

of the water and soil systems, recycling,

of creating distinctive places, living milieux

systems with the capacity to regenerate

multiple energy sources, access to and

and political projects proved decisive in the

inhabited milieux, and which acknowledge the

preservation of cultivatable land

reconfigurations that link scales, community

interactions between living organisms and their

While today, water, air and land are not intact

equity and diversity, project and consultation.

environments, an approach that runs counter

because of human industries, the elemental

The challenge, therefore, is not to define the

to a toxic culture based on separation and the

remains a living force which speaks of the

style of an object to be built from a fixed

unlimited exploitation of resources.

secret of the Earth and of life. In their material,

programme, but to respond to contemporary

In this move towards regenerative

imaginative and symbolic renaissance, the

changes on the basis of priorities and lines

metamorphoses, a different way of managing

four elements seem even to regenerate matter

of force in which accommodation and

resources is crucial: A resource is as much

and the poetics of inhabited milieux. Bachelard

for living as for thinking, it no longer separates

explored the oneiric power of earth, water, air

them. So from this re-sourcing of the resource

and fire, which are primordial and renewable

we could begin again, take our cues from it,

materials that have the property of taking us

in order to live and think at the same time.1

beyond ourselves. They have the imaginative

Which relates to projects that seek to exploit or

force to be one with the world and to be

generate changes based in the interweaving of

part of its living totality through a holistic

scales, while at the same time being anchored

and dynamic vision that is re-emerging in the

in elemental, agricultural and landscape

epistemology of contemporary ecology.3 The

resources.

power of their material imagination material

1 - JYVSKYL (FI)

because it is water or fire or air that governs

Supporting emerging practices

images which is strictly speaking unreal,

surreal or hyperreal, has an equally substantive

By contrast with centralised and normative

reality but one which differs in nature from

systems, at local level emergent alternative

that procured by scientific knowledge, one

ways of inhabiting are developing, halfway

that combines with the evolution of ways of

between sharing and emancipation. These

living. As a result, numerous possibilities are

strategies, devised outside planning

opened up:

mechanisms, employ practical methods

- transformations of divided heritages through

that are growing in scale: shared gardens,

eco-systemic interconnecting between

eco-production, permaculture, exchanges of

cultures, but also between the human and the

knowledge and know-how, recycling, artistic

nonhuman;

practices How can architecture participate

- the interweaving of spatiotemporal scales,

in these lively practices?

between micro-places, city, metropolis,

For example, urban agroecology is emerging

bioregion and globalisation;

as a basis for reinventing human settlements

- adaptations to the digital era, capable of

from a necessarily eco-rhythmic and eco-

linking vernacular cultures and innovations;

political perspective.2 This entails being on

- implementations of socio-spatial processes

the lookout for approaches that redefine the

able to encourage communality.

places and interconnections not only of the

The Europan projects submitted under this

urban and rural between them, but also of

theme propose other connections, global

their common immersion in living nature: for

and local, urban and rural, other territorialised

2 - LINZ (AT)

3 - CHARLEROI (BE)

4 - BARCELONA (ES)

51

consultation, territory and architecture, are

interwoven. Today, the demand for frugality and
for collaboration is making ground, both as a
necessity and a value. Within this dynamic,

5 - BARCELONA (ES), WINNER - IN MOTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.203

the minor proves major and encounter is

empowerment.

T. Sieverts4 reflected on the socio-economic

On the one hand the substance of this article

conditions required for a fine-grained

addresses three different milieux, each with

mixed-use milieu, highlighting the dimension

common goals: districts-intensity, islands-

of time and for the purpose of longevity

connectivity and shrinkage-resilience. On the

and to save resources, the building must

other hand, three basic emblematic attitudes

in future be capable of adjustments to

are shared by the winning teams: frameworks,

changing demands. But how can a flexible

inputs and pre-existences.

infrastructural framework be developed

at political level? Or at a level that will

Intensifying districts

permit it to become the infrastructure of the

The first group of sites in the 13th edition of

The winning project in Barcelona, In Motion

Europan share the common issue of how to

(fig.5), as the name suggests, is a reaction

intensify an urban district and thereby create

against a static city model. The team proposes

positive impacts on the surroundings.

an urban infrastructure as an unspecialized

The district of Kortepohja in Jyvskyl (FI),

collection of stacked slabs with high

featured as a large community of students

resistance to municipal management, and

living in a modernistic 1960s urban planning

flexible enough to allow for a wide range of

environment, aspires to be densified and

uncertain uses throughout time.

revitalized through residential-led mixed-use

In Charleroi, the runner-up The Heterotopia

develo pment (fig.1). The same challenge

Pool (fig.6), also proposes a new infrastructure.

appears in Linz (AT), in a large socially mixed

This time the social pool spatially organizes

neighbourhood, developed over the last

the core of the district, attracting new users

50 years as a housing zoo (fig.2). At Gilly,

and consolidating the existing activities.

infrastructures?

Charleroi (BE), the municipality is keen to

create a multi-functional public square as a
new attractor at the heart of the quarter (fig.3).
The Barcelona (ES) site is located in La Marina
district (fig.4), which is undergoing conversion
from a former industrial site to a new mixed-use
area with the associated challenge of attracting
compatible economic and residential activity.
Reframing infrastructures
as a procedure over time
The first attitude noted by several teams is the
introduction of a new infrastructural framework
to trigger social mixes and diversity. A cultural
infrastructure is conceived as a procedure, as a
platform for negotiation and urban discussion,
a space for programmed uncertainty.

6 - CHARLEROI (BE), RUNNER-UP - THE HETEROTOPIA POOL > SEE CATALOGUE P.212

52

8 - BARCELONA (ES), RUNNER-UP - SUSTAINABLE INTERFACE > SEE CATALOGUE P.205

Rethinking typologies as a mediator

between public and private
Inventing new typologies to regenerate an
urban fragment and to activate a cultural and
social realm is another common approach.
New typologies are able to articulate the
potential of the spaces that are intermediate
between public and private, sharing a promise
to build a community. But which new types are
needed to manage the interactions between
the public, collective and private space?
In the winning entry in Jyvskyl, The Nolli
Gardens (fig.7), the friction between street
space and private space is explored and
confronted with a modernistic urban plan
in order to define what a community is. The

7 - JYVSKYL (FI), WINNER - THE NOLLI GARDENS > SEE CATALOGUE P.223

proposed block is based on a sequence of

co-inhabited and shared spaces at different

Reinterpreting heritage

levels and scales. A collective courtyard and a

as the substance for the future

series of common uses the Nolli Gardens

enhance the social interaction.

The third trend anchors the works to the sites

In Barcelona, the runner-up Sustainable

existing values in order to promote a vibrant

Interface (fig.8), plans a typology called The

neighbourhood. The pre-existing cultural land

Workshop House for City Starters, a sustain

scape and the reinterpretation of heritage are

able interface between the Green, the Produc-

the two main forces used to trigger a process

tive and the Living City, that provides affordable

of densification. But which kind of new and

housing and working spaces for a new socio-

existing values should guide the production of

economic reality. A new relationship with the

the city? And how can these values be trans-

street is also established through productive

9 - STREEFKERK (NL), WINNER - IN-BETWEEN

> SEE CATALOGUE P.249

and robust plinths.

The winning project In-between (fig.9), at
Streefkerk (NL), also deals with the transition
between the private, the neighbourhood
and the territorial scales, and in so doing,
develops a prototype. The brief calls for the
reconstruction of a plot of land between the
river Lek and its hinterland, a result of the
installation of dike reinforcement designed
to provide protection against rising water
levels. The project takes advantage of the new
artificial topography, and splits the intimate
and public spaces into two levels, with a new
shared space located in between them at dikestreet level, which becomes an open field of
possibilities both for the inhabitants and for the
development of the city.

10 - LINZ (AT), WINNER - ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES > SEE CATALOGUE P.233

53

formed into the heritage of the next decades?

All Tomorrows Parties (fig.10), the winning entry
in Linz, works at two different levels, on a series
of projective interventions at the borders of the
site, and on a participatory strategy around a
series of workshops in the inner parts of the
district. Both strategies are based in the local
understanding of the neighbourhood as a
network of manifold collectives, which are
converted in the urban substance for a future
development.

Reconnecting islands
The second set of sites is characterized by
the notion of insularity and the matter of how
to reconnect urban islands at different scales,

11 - RSTA (NO), WINNER - CONNECTING RSTA > SEE CATALOGUE P.241

from global to local, from the physical to the

cultural dimension.

at an urban scale to host new programmes,

connection, that are anchored in a chain of

In rsta (NO), the goal is to give the inner city

to integrate existing uses and to reinforce

new centralities and spaces of exchange, the

a new central position in the region and better

connectivity.

Squares. Public space is understood as the

connections with its surroundings. At Bruck an

In their Collage City, C. Rowe and F. Koetter5

backbone of future development.

der Mur (AT), a piece of land bordering the

listed a set of stimulants, a-temporal and

In a special mention in Marl, The Spine (fig.12),

railw ay tracks and expressway, is similarly

necessarily transcultural, as possible objets

proposes the eponymous entity as a flexible

waiting to play a central role in the region and

trouvs in the urbanistic collage, such as

spatial feature which allows the first steps of

to be reconnected with the city, by way of

memorable streets, stabilizers, or splendid

implementation to be taken without large-scale

the arrival of a new railway stop. In the case

public terraces. But what kind of stimulants

investment, addressing the uncertainty of how

of Warsaw (PL), Cubryna Garden is isolated

can help us to reconnect the different urban

the area will evolve in the future.

between the lanes of a new expressway, and

fragments, and how can these elements

aspires to open up to the riverside boulevards,

attract new economic and social processes of

buoyed by the design of the exhibition of stone

interaction?

treasures rescued from the Vistula. At Marl

At rsta, the winning project Connecting

(DE), the large mining area of Auguste Victoria

rsta (fig.11), plans to establish clear links

Colliery Shaft 3/7 is scheduled for closure in

and identities through three urban connectors,

2015, and the project brief therefore calls for

the Urban, the Park and the Educational

new visions for a 21st century industrial site.

The Azenha do Mar (PT) site is a recent fishing
settlement located between the agricultural
landscape and the ocean, looking for an
economic model that combines responsible
tourism and a unique local experience.
Shaping stimulants to welcome
processes of interaction
Within this subtopic some teams work with
the aim of shaping new spatial frameworks

12 - MARL (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - THE SPINE > SEE CATALOGUE P.239

54

Devising programmes to reconnect

the sites with their contexts
Introducing innovative programmes to reconnect the sites with their contexts is the most
frequent response. The new links can be
social, economic, ecological or cultural in
nature, but all of them stand, as the French
sociologist Alain Touraine suggested, between
the extremes of economic globalization and
cultural orientation to a place. But what kind
of new programmes can mediate between the
local and the global, subverting the idea of
proximity?
The winning project in Marl, WEEE Marl! (fig.13),
is an economic and social strategy triggered by
a new programme, a WEEE Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment recycling plant that
seeks to cushion the shock of the 3000 jobs
lost with the closure of the mine. The transition
from traditional mining to urban mining is
anchored in geopolitical reasons and facts,
such as recycling being the worlds second
largest employer after agriculture, or that a
13 - MARL (DE), WINNER - WEEE MARL! > SEE CATALOGUE P.237

ton of soil from a gold-mine contains less gold

than a ton of smartphones. The former mining
site becomes a platform for research and

14 - BRUCK/MUR (AT), RUNNER-UP - TOGETHER > SEE CATALOGUE P.209

55

15 - WARSZAWA (PL), RUNNER-UP - APPORT PLUS SUPPORT > SEE CATALOGUE P.254

knowledge exchange that seeks to strengthen

The city of Selb (DE) is experiencing a

the local environment as a complement to

process of continual shrinkage following

internationalization.

the post-industrial collapse of the porcelain

sector. The goal is to activate the inner city,

Decoding the environment

with special attention to vacant properties. A

to open up an enclave

similar situation, although originating in the

reunification of Germany, is found in Gera

Some teams put their faith in the values of

(DE). An extensive city centre wasteland, a

the natural and social environment as levers

result of demolition, is waiting for an attractive

to open up an enclave in the city-archipelago.

mixed-use development. At La Corrze (FR)

O.M. Ungers and R. Koolhaas suggested that

a rural context outside metropolitan influence

only through a process of identification will

is proposed for the quest for new visions

the potential of urban islands be preserved,

of rurality, to be tested in three different

and for the city dweller, the environment

communities: Ussel, Argentat, and Turenne.

will be legible again, and thereby endowed

In the site of Goussainville (FR), the historical

with human quality. But how can the sites

village, affected by CDG airport, metropolitan

achieve a high degree of permeability through

and agricultural influences, is trying to find

legibility?

new forms of occupancy compatible with the

While the runner-up in Bruck an der Mur,

constraints.

Together (fig.14), anchors the project in the

communities from a regional perspective,

Infiltrating new rules to steer

channelling the citizens voices into a strategy

a regeneration process

called politics of spatial cooperation, another

runner-up, Apport plus Support (fig.15), this

A first shared position on the topic is the

time in Warsaw, re-integrates the site into the

establishment of a new political framework,

city by treating Cubryna Garden as part of a

composed of new rules, to steer a process

larger territorial-scale natural system.

of regeneration over time. New rules become

The winning project in Azenha do Mar,

a platform for critical participation in order to

Limenochora (fig.16), suggests specific

allow new forms of societal organization. If

interventions inspired by the logics of local

the urban space can no longer be planned

economic models and the archetypal image

as before, what kind of societal rulebooks are

of the traditional Portuguese house, in order

needed?

to build a shared community identity.

Resisting shrinkage
The third collection consists of sites that are
undergoing processes of urban shrinkage.
The last decade has seen the launch of
slogans in response to shrinkage, such as the
future is less, or progress without growth,
supporting the idea that shrinkage will be
in future considered as normal a process of
development as growth.7 The challenge now
is to define which new alliances between city
and society are needed to lead that process
of normalisation.

16 - AZENHA DO MAR (PT), WINNER - LIMENOCHORA > SEE CATALOGUE P.199

56

17 - SELB (DE), WINNER - URBAN TOOLKIT

> SEE CATALOGUE P.245

(fig.18), plans to colonise the inner city

wasteland with a Stadtgarten in order to
resolve the negative perceptions of a no mans
land and to redefine the space of the street. In
a second step, the garden will be programmed
by pioneering entrepreneurs and public
facilities. Once developed, the garden will be
ready to welcome new investors and dwellers.
Revisiting the everyday life
to build a community
The most common attitude in response to
shrinkage is the development of pre-existing
potential to create a different vision and
positive prospects. If production of the city
and the cultural landscape are organized
around the inhabitants own dynamics,
instead of ambitious master plans or financial
speculation, which inclusive narratives can
provide the best operation fields?
I will cut a bit of basil for dinner in the shared
kitchen garden, and then I will have a look at
the most recent table that Richard is making
in his carpenters workshop. This is a quote
from one of the winning projects in La Corrze,
Sharing Islands (fig.19), which tries to improve
These new frameworks also update the role of

Devising new landscapes

the quality of community life through the

the architect to that of a social agent between

to attract new inputs

infiltration of common programmes for

the three economic forces: state, private, civic.

everyday life.

In the light of the disinvestment agenda, how

The execution of preparatory work or interim

The runner-up in Goussainville, Des racines

can the involvement of private owners in the

projects, to keep a site alive while waiting

et des ailes (fig.20), is likewise focused on

fabrication of the city be managed?

for the arrival of investment, is a different

local potential the forest understood as a

Urban Toolkit (fig.17), the winning project in

approach. The question is, how can the first

unifying resource with a social, ecological and

Selb, is an open and never ending process

signs of transformation be triggered as one of

economic role. As an apprentice carpenter,

based on a toolkit and a series of goals, urban

the crucial moments of identification?

I was looking to settle down in the region.

indicators, to deal with uncertainty and to offer

Vacancy is one of the features of shrinkage,

The consolidation of the forestry guilds in

an alternative to rigid plans. As a first step,

post-industrial landscapes become part of

old Goussainville offers a solid network

the authors suggest the creation of an Office

the city in the form of wasteland. Transitional

and excellent visibility to establish my own

for Urban Regeneration to mediate between

situations between built-up and vacant land are

business, Mr Delorme states.

all the players. The system promotes small

productive zones, experimental fields for a

interventions that take advantage of previously

new type of urban landscape. A preference for

hidden opportunities, including a wide range

life on the urban periphery can be realized in

of hybrid funding modalities, from top-down to

inner-city locations.8 But which kind of new

bottom-up, which blur the boundaries between

urban landscapes can attract new residents?

the public and private.

The special mention in Gera, DasistGera

57

18 - GERA (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - DAS IST GERA

> SEE CATALOGUE P.217

Accommodating latent,
local and trans-local
resources
Other positive forms of health, solidarity and
frugality can drive fertile projects for territorial
transformation. Each will be a different way
of stressing the importance of the micro but
also of processes capable of contributing to
the conception of broader intermediate scales
as well as to the renewal of the conditions of
possibility for living together. An ethics of care,
of solicitude, of frugality and of reconnection,
pathways that seek to reinvent other ways of

19 - LA CORRZE (FR), WINNER - SHARING ISLANDS > SEE CATALOGUE P.230

making the city, making architecture, making

the world. The challenges are simultaneously
political, scientific, aesthetic and ethical, in
the quest to establish the renewed conditions
needed to create possibilities for ecorhythms between human beings and living
environments.
Each will define its possibility conditions
in terms of diversities of practices and

FRANOIS JULLIEN, DE LTRE AU VIVRE, GALLIMARD, 2015

knowledge, of heritages and innovations,

ROBERTO DARIENZO, CHRIS YOUNS (DIR.),

founded in a reversal of imaginative visions

RECYCLER LURBAIN, MTISPRESSES, 2014

and value systems.

JEAN-JACQUES WUNENBURGER,

GASTON BACHELARD ET LA MDIANCE DES MATIRES

ARCHE-COSMIQUES, IN PHILOSOPHIE, VILLE ET
ARCHITECTURE. LA RENAISSANCE DES
QUATRE LMENTS (DIR. C. YOUNS ET TH. PAQUOT),
LA DCOUVERTE, 2002, PP. 27-41
4

THOMAS SIEVERTS, CITIES WITHOUT CITIES,

AN INTERPRETATION OF THE ZWISCHENSTADT, ROUTLEDGE,

NY, 2003.
(FIRST PUBLISHED 1997 BY VIEWEG)
5

COLIN ROWE AND FRED KOETTER, COLLAGE CITY, THE MIT

PRESS, CAMBRIDGE MA, 1978

6

OSWALD MATHIAS UNGERS AND REM KOOLHAAS,

THE CITY IN THE CITY BERLIN: A GREEN

ARCHIPELAGO, LARS MLLER PUBLISHERS, ZRICH, 2013.
(FIRST PUBLISHED, DIE STADT IN DER STADT BERLIN:
EIN GRNES ARCHIPEL, 1977)
7

PHILIPP OSWALT, HYPOTHESES ON URBAN SHRINKING IN THE

21ST CENTURY, PROJECT SHRINKING CITIES, 2006

8

20 - GOUSSAINVILLE (FR), RUNNER-UP - DES RACINES ET DES AILES > SEE CATALOGUE P.220

IBA PRINCIPLES. GUIDELINES OF THE CABINET REGARDING

THE SETUP OF THE IBA STADTUMBAU 2010, 2002

58

THE ADAPTABLE CITY / 2

Europan 13 Results

NATIONAL POINTS OF VIEW

EUROPAN BELGIQUE/BELGI/BELGIEN RESULTS
Between Disillusion and Openness
by Jean-Michel Degraeve

p.60

EUROPAN DEUTSCHLAND RESULTS

Object or Project?
The Search for a New Common Sense Has Just Begun
by Thorsten Erl

p.64

EUROPAN ESPAA RESULTS

Interpretations on the Adaptable City
by Juana Snchez Gmez

p.68

EUROPAN FRANCE RESULTS

Projects Between thePracticality ofContexts
and the Ambition ofTopics
by Nathan Starkman

p.72

EUROPAN NORGE RESULTS

Adaptable Norway? an Oil Stained Landscape
by Ellen Hellsten

p.76

EUROPAN STERREICH/KOSOVO RESULTS

Adaptability around a Core Structure
by Irene Djao-Rakitine

p.80

EUROPAN PORTUGAL RESULTS

Crisis and Opportunities
by Joo Cabral, Leonor Cheis and Conceio Melo

p.84

60

EUROPAN BELGIQUE RESULTS

Two Walloon sites were proposed for the 13th session of Europan Belgium.
The first at Libramont-Chevigny, the heart of an agricultural area in the centre
of Belgian Luxembourg, the second in Charleroi, a town in the process of
adjusting to deindustrialisation. For each of these sites, after a reminder of
the question raised, the selected proposals and the jurys reasons were
succinctly summarised. These elements were followed by a few general
reflections.

POINT OF VIEW OF A JURY MEMBER

JEAN MICHEL DEGRAEVE (BE), architect-urbanist,
member of the Europan13 Belgian jury.

Between Disillusion and Openness

Heart of Libramont

This jury decision reflected a certain

wider context. A station constitutes an urban

disillusionment about the responses. Apart

room on the railway lines, with functional,

The town of Libramont (fig.1) is looking to

from traffic infrastructures and buildings,

economic, landscape or poetic influences that

revitalise its station district in order to turn it

a station should be a place of interchange

should drive the development of a city. None

into the Heart of Libramont. After several

between inhabitants and a medium for events

of the projects tackled this station territory

fruitless attempts in previous Europan Belgium

or activities, for example in the case of

dimension.

session, an agreement was reached with the

Libramont around agriculture. More broadly,

SNCB (Belgian railway company) to offer a

the jury was disappointed by the failure of

commission to the winner of Europan 13. The

the projects to place themselves within the

aim of the ambitious programme is to design

a 21st-century station district.
In the first session, the jury felt that none of
the projects offered an adequate response.
Three partial responses were selected for the
second round. In the final deliberations, the jury
decided that none of the proposals merited
a prize, only awarding a special mention to
the project 50 shades of green (fig.2). The
jury appreciated the green aspect of the
landscape continuities along the railway lines,
but was disappointed by the lack of definition
in the housing typologies and the exit from the
railway underpass.

1 - LIBRAMONT (BE)

2 - LIBRAMONT (BE), SPECIAL MENTION - 50 SHADES OF GREEN > SEE CATALOGUE P.97

61

3 - CHARLEROI (BE)

Place en volte-face
(rotating the square)
in Charleroi (Gilly)
The second site is in the old village of Gilly, one

partial responses, none achieved the level

needed to be a winner. It let the municipality
choose between four proposals, while also
nominating one runner-up and one special
mention for each type of approach.

of the secondary hubs of the town of Charleroi

(fig.3). The local authorities want to make the
area around Place Destre more attractive. At
the heart of a block of public services, adjacent

A large unifying
space

to the community centre and various public

amenities, this space is invaded by cars and

The first approach entailed the creation of a

surrounded by disparate architectures. The

large, unifying public space across the whole

rotation of this space would be a source of

site. This option seeks to be radical enough to

revitalisation for Gilly.

generate the urban intensity needed to give

Among the ideas submitted, the jury chose

Gilly a new start. It does not freeze the site and

two types of approach: the creation of a large,

opens up the potential for a diversity of uses.

unifying public space, and a sequence of

The runner-up project The Heterotopia Pool

spaces along an axis. It was nevertheless felt

(fig.4) seeks to create the physical space of

that while some projects offered interesting

utopia by dropping a large part of the action

4 - CHARLEROI (BE), RUNNER-UP - THE HETEROTOPIA POOL > SEE CATALOGUE P.212

62

maintaining the history of the place, this

pointillist approach gently transforms an
improbable space in order to improve its uses.
The project is realistic and works with minimal
effort. However, the jury was disappointed by
the size of the new building on Rue du Calvaire
5 - CHARLEROI (BE), SPECIAL MENTION - SUR LES PAVS, LA PLACE! > SEE CATALOGUE P.213

and the development of the frontage of the

Town Hall Annex.
The special mention project Made it yourself

by a panoramic tower. This project offers

or a sequence of
differentiated spaces?

an interesting response. Passing under the

The second approach proposes a sequence

big public square linking Place Destre and

adjacent Community Centre, this space links

of differentiated spaces along the axis of the

the back of the Town Hall Annex. This building

the front and rear of the building. It improves

subway. By reviving the domestic dimension

becomes the central point of the project,

access to the Metro and to the Cultural Centre.

of the place, it forms part of the history of the

through the demolition of its southern wing.

Finally, it strengthens the identity and role of

district and completes the urban puzzle of Gilly.

The frontage of the square is extended with

the retained public buildings by placing them

The runner-up project Making Room for

new buildings: a sports complex to the west

on plinths. However, this proposal is likely

Gilly (fig.6) is characterised by localised

and a social centre to the north. The second

to be costly in light of the significant work

interventions between two subway stations.

space is the reconstructed facade of Rue

required, in particular demolition/rebuilding all

The subsequent initiatives follow each other

Genard, demolished during work on the

the underpinning of the Town Hall Annex.

from west to east. A new apartment building

subway. The interior of the new block thus

The special mention project Sur les pavs, la

is erected on Rue du Calvaire, with a new

created is given over to a park on top of a

place! (fig.5), proposes converting the current

underground sports hall behind. The existing,

new sports hall and to shared gardens. This

fragmented space into a large collective

hard-to-see entrance to the sports complex

structured project respects the existing fabric

surface. Covered with continuous triangular

is turned on to Rue Genard. A new awning

and the site boundaries. It maintains a balance

patterns of paving modules, this public area

is created in front of the former swimming

between hardstanding and plantings. However,

is the projects iconic component. A large,

pool, converted to a multipurpose hall. A

this option requires extensive demolition. The

undulating empty space, it aims to generate

central square links the different functions.

jury wondered about the viability of shared

a new perception of the place. This new

The accesses to the schools are remodelled

gardens in a town centre dynamic.

infrastructure constitutes the unifying base of

and a new entrance created behind the Town

the existing elements and of new interventions.

Hall Annex. Place Destre is converted to

The latter take the form of sections with mixed

an intermodal platform and a new access

uses, positioned like objects that close off the

is provided to the Cultural Centre. The car

north of the square. However, some of the

parks are scattered across the whole site,

proposals are unrealistic.

and planted to form a green space. While

site by one level. This 235 x 32 m pool,

located on top of a car park, is completed

(fig.7) proposes the creation of two different

spaces along the subway axis. The first is a

63

6 - CHARLEROI (BE), RUNNER-UP - MAKING ROOM FOR GILLY > SEE CATALOGUE P.211

To transform the entire

site or adapt to the
existing fabric?

to adapt and complete it through a process of

the necessary demolitions/reconstructions to

urban acupuncture. This choice between the

be funded? What types of car park should be

tabula rasa or working with whats there

chosen: underground, multi-storey, surface?

is a long-standing issue in urban design.

How to maintain the retained elements in

Out of a concern to open up prospects

However, it takes on a new dimension with

use while the work is underway. Is there not

for implementation, the jury did not make

the adaptable city approach. In implementing

a risk that relocating certain functions may

a definitive decision between these two

an adaptable project, should one knock

compromise their survival on the site? The

approaches. In addition to a choice between

everything down or take into account the

municipality will be able to choose the team it

types of solution, it felt that it was the choice

already there?

works with depending on the answers to these

of the method of implementation that would

The choice between these two options

questions.

dictate which team would be commissioned.

lies outside the ambit of an architecture

Between disillusion with the Libramont projects

The jury identified two major operational

competition. It needs to be made on the basis

and the new prospects opening up on the

categories. Three projects require a total

of financial possibilities and local political

Charleroi site, the deliberations of the Belgian

adaptation of the site, on an all or nothing

objectives. Beyond the question is renovation

jury provided an opportunity to discuss the

basis, with significant demolition prior to

cheaper than new?, it is about a cost benefit

method of how to design and assess the

reconstruction. Only the Making Room for Gilly

analysis of uses, funding and management

adaptable city. The need to incorporate the

project uses the existing fabric and proposes

methods, proposed phasing, etc How are

fast changing behaviours of the inhabitants

into a lasting project entails going beyond
questions of form, and proposing a process
whereby the sites would be transformed. The
selection of a team to manage this process
on the basis of an architectural project raises
questions. Graphic representation would seem
limited, given the complexity of designing
adaptable projects. It would seem necessary
to change the methods whereby we manage
the transition in our living environment. A
transdisciplinary approach between urbanism,
sociology and management, together with the
use of new methods of communication, are
possible avenues to explore for the future
direction of Europan. There is no doubt that
these questions will be tackled in upcoming
sessions.

7 - CHARLEROI (BE), SPECIAL MENTION - GILLY MADE IT YOURSELF > SEE CATALOGUE P.213

64

EUROPAN DEUTSCHLAND RESULTS

With a total of eight German very different sites (and one Polish site), the
jury in Berlin was constantly required to change perspective and scale. The
spectrum of tasks ranged from regional integration measures to spatial
and social urban development strategies to classic urban planning and
superstructure designs as well as their process-oriented implementation.
What they all had in common was the search for ways to effectively deal
with an already completed or in part also already used up piece of city.
The three contrasting pairs of terms Welfare State Vs. Self-Organization,
Segregation Vs. Sharing, and Object Vs. Project (Process) define the
levels in the discussion of current stress ratio on economic, social and

planning levels. The boundaries between private and public interests have
to be defined anew and/or adapted to our current living conditions.
For this, the Berlin jury for the Europan 13 Adaptable City 2 competition
was searching for innovation potential that stimulates thought and decisionmaking processes in the municipalities and has the power to produce a
new common sense.
POINT OF VIEW OF ONE JURY MEMBER
THORSTEN ERL (DE), architect, urbanist, teacher,
member of the German-Polish Europan 13 jury.

Object or Project? The Search for

a New "Common Sense" Has Just Begun

1 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE), RUNNER-UP UN-BREAK MY HARDT > SEE CATALOGUE P.167

How to use new inputs

to change urban
space?

2 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE), RUNNER-UP - CREATIVE CITY > SEE CATALOGUE P.165

In this first category two very different sites and

the project area and specifically as a result of

but the district is also further programmatically

tasks confronted each other.

this, offers an overall design that is consistent

and atmospherically enriched.

In contrast to quite rural Landsberg and the

and also surprising in two respects. The design

Playful Hardt, special mention (fig.3), is a

task of searching for a works housing estate

transforms the row houses of the former mil

very moderated project. It does not rely on

of a new kind (unfortunately, none of the

itary housing area from 1950 into a rigorous

urban space and architectural identities,

designs were able to provide a real answer to

block perimeter development. The boldness

but is instead the only work in Schwbisch

this question), the urban planning upgrading

of giving the cut-off area of the city a palpable

Gmnd that puts the participation of citizens

of the Hardt district of the city of Schwbisch

identity by means of a strong spatial image,

in the foreground. As a result of the use of the

Gmnd with its multicultural, socially mixed

ultimately, with the return to the cityscape of

agora concept for the central space, the work

population, the separating effect of the arterial

the 19th century and the use of a proven urban

is strong in associations. With the help of a

road and the integration of a future campus

planning structure stand vis--vis a kind of pro-

participation game arise sharing ideas, which

city offered an optimal task to develop a city

tection mindset. Between the lines, it is formally

can be implemented in the public space with

model for the knowledge city of the 21 century

possible to read that the dispersed and struc-

the aid of participation certificates. A model for

from very diverse structures in the sense of

tured city of the 1950s has ultimately failed.

sharing habitation organizes the juxtaposition

adaptability.

Another runner-up project, Creative City (fig.2),

and coexistence of very diverse life models

It was perhaps due to the small-scale project

is very different: it precisely develops further

and favours the appropriation of the residential

areas separated from one another, but, in

this urban idea of an open and versatile urban

buildings. Logically, along with sharing

Schwbisch Gmnd, instead of a winner

landscape that is coded in various ways

goods, barter is introduced as a sustainable

and a runner-up, three runners-up and one

and in doing so, it perhaps searches more

economic principle and the existing storage

special mention were declared. Altogether,

intensively for a new urban model. Although

buildings are converted into workshops and

the solutions proposed in the projects could

the architectures proposed do not structure the

exchange locations for residents.

not have been more different. All of them were

space in connection with the row houses, they

nonetheless interesting.

do already give existing initiatives and offer a

The project runner-up, Un-break my Hardt

new expression. Thereby, what already exists

(fig.1), did not adhere to the specifications of

is not only continued on a higher, newer level,

st

65

4 - INGOLSTADT (DE), WINNER - WALDSTRASSE

> SEE CATALOGUE P.89

shared space. Meticulously compiled and

impressively plotted, the strongly historicizing
aesthetic of the design surprises. From the
3 - SCHWBISCH GMND (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - PLAYFUL HARDT > SEE CATALOGUE P.168

How to transform
physical obstacles into
new connections?

conceptual model of a historical depiction of

a forest to the smallest formal aspects such

For this reason, the hope was to develop new

as a road sign, the design indulges in history.

dynamics by means of self-organized initiatives

One is nearly tempted to interpret the histor

and temporary uses. For this, a more public

ical garb as a Trojan horse with which

space is required. With the shared space

an alternative concept in terms of transport

Under this second category, the City of

concept, one possibility had already been

policy is supposed to be introduced in an

Ingolstadt was concerned with the reinvention

found during the site visit.

automobile city.

of a part of the city core that had become

The winning project, Waldstrasse (fig.4), moves

lost in recent years. Famous for the car

the bus station in front of the old city to literally

industry, Ingolstadt is still a growing city.

reforests the urban space of Harderstrasse

Nonetheless, the Northern centre of the city

and create a Waldstrasse, i.e. a forest road.

has been affected by trading-down effects.

Parallel to this, the road is converted into a

How to create positive

dynamics from
a difficult situation?
This rubric comprises three very different
participating municipalities with their respective
design tasks Gera, Marl and Selb.
In the Eastern German city of Gera, it has
not been possible for the last ten years to
initiate a spatially and functionally high-quality
and simultaneously economic development
for the wasteland in the centre of the city.
What remained was an empty space in the
middle of Gera. The situation for the Europan
participation was very special, as citizens
engaged with the Ja fr Gera association
to support the competition along with the City
and the IBA Thuringia, both organizationally
and financially. In contrast to the two first prizes
designs, the special mention project, Geras

5 - GERA (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - GERAS GOLDEN CENTRE > SEE CATALOGUE P.217

Golden Centre (fig.5), favours an appropriation

of the empty city centre with temporary uses
by citizens. What stands in the foreground is
the activation of the site. The work therefore
reacts in a pragmatic way to the many failures
to fill the centre through new construction.
Self-organization of events, but also symbolic
installations such as a field of sunflowers stand
in the foreground.
The approach of the other special mention
design, Das ist Gera (fig. 6), could not be more
different and shows the wide spectrum in which

6 - GERA (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - DAS IST GERA > SEE CATALOGUE P.217

designs can develop. A large arcade structure

66

7 - MARL (DE), RUNNER-UP - GREEN GRAY FACTOR > SEE CATALOGUE P.238

frames a courtyard garden, providing a strong

was posed was: What are the creative,

spatial image for Geras centre. The concept

functional and programmatic requirements

surprises and polarizes in equal measure.

for a commercial and industrial area in the

Does the exaggerated visual presentation

21th century? The task could not be bigger!

only provide consolation for the simple reality

What was sought was a vision for the future

in Gera, or can this romantic garden fulfil the

uses of the Auguste Victoria coal mine in the

role of a contemporary, urban space through

meantime decommissioned.

an intensive appropriation by citizens?

While the runner-up project, GReenGRay

In Marl, an industrial town on the Northern

Factor (fig.7), pursues a very pragmatic

edge of the Ruhr area, the question that

marketing strategy with the largest possible

8 - MARL (DE), WINNER - WEEE MARL! > SEE CATALOGUE P.237

commercial development area, the winner

WEEE Marl! (fig.8), impresses with its very
particular and yet quite astonishingly obvious
solution.
WEEE Marl! is surely not a work that one would
immediately put on the list with a view to
short-term utilization. The clear programmatic
commitment is nevertheless enthralling.
Somehow between pictogrammatic and
poetic-artistic graphics, the work formulates
both a current as well as a plausible production
idea in a visually powerful manner. WEEE Marl!
stands for Waste of Electrical and Electronic
Equipment. The programmatic reference to
the location and its history of many years (coal
mining) is adapted to a very special area in
raw material extraction, urban mining. In
contrast to many other designs there was no
need here of any creative loans from historical
images or nostalgic aesthetics. The work also
captivates as a result of the fact that the formal
level of prospering waste management and
recycling enterprises is linked to the informal
level of innumerable micro-entrepreneurs and
rubbish collectors.
One cannot help but highlight Selb in the
ranks of the Europan 13 sites. This is not
only due to the fact that the small town have
participated in the European competition for
the third time, but also because of the high
quality of all three works, which, with their
9 - SELB (DE), WINNER - URBAN TOOLKIT > SEE CATALOGUE P.245

different approaches, precisely depict the

67

three sub-theme strategies shown in the

national field of the Europan 13 competition
in Germany as a whole.
The centre of Selb is facing intensive changes
due to the structural crisis. The task was to

10 - SELB (DE), RUNNER-UP - ROUND THE CORNER > SEE CATALOGUE P.246

identify areas for action and offer creative

answers to solutions, adapt the urban space
in a high-quality manner and reverse the trend
without huge primary financial costs.
While the winner, Urban Toolkit (fig.9), sets
out on a detailed and differentiated path to
plan the redevelopment process in individual
steps as a kind of procedural strategy draft
and provide a corresponding toolkit,
the runner-up, Round the Corner (fig.10)
focuses at the same time on classic urban
planning measures such as the formation
of clearly defined spatial borders. Contrary
to trends, Round the Corner proposes to
infiltrate the town centre with new streets,
including parking spaces. It seems as if
specific site criteria are non-ideologically
combined with pragmatic requirements for
contemporary living in the town centre of
a structurally weak municipality. The special
mention design, Identity + Intensity (fig.11),
links spatial urban planning measures
with process-oriented and programmatic
measures to create a hybrid strategy.

11 - SELB (DE), SPECIAL MENTION - IDENTITY + INTENSITY > SEE CATALOGUE P.247

In summary, for the results in Germany, it can

be said that a clear decision for one of both

Feldafing, Unbreak my Hardt, Das ist Gera and

poles Welfare State vs. Self-Organization,

Waldstrasse is in part unconventional and

Segregation vs. Sharing, and Object vs.

non-ideological, occasionally experimental,

Project (Process) resulted in conclusive

but sometimes also ill-considered,

results on many sites. The linking of both

questionable and dubious. The Europan

approaches generally resulted not in multi-

results therefore correspond with a current

layered and equivocally hybrid, fully developed

trend of using and adapting traditional as

strategies, but rather in a simple juxtaposition

well as historicizing design elements from

of individual strategies.

the most diverse epochs and weaving them

Especially on the spatial level, between object

into existing structures. It seems as though

and project, well-designed urban spaces

people are currently also once again orienting

often have the stronger power of persuasion

themselves in terms of aesthetics more

in comparison to process-oriented strategies.

strongly towards the supposedly fixed values

The power of images and above all, for

of history. The only thing that is missing in

Europan 13, of historicizing images was great.

the new way of dealing with the historical is

This new approach to historical references

the playful approach, the pleasure in shrilly

as shown by the works The Magic Park of

quoting the post-modern.

68

EUROPAN ESPAA RESULTS

POINT OF VIEW OF A JURY MEMBER

JUANA SNCHEZ GMEZ (ES), architect,
co-founder of DJArquitectura in Granada, teacher,
Europan Prize E7, E8, E10, E11, member of the Europan 13 Spanish jury.

Interpretations on the Adaptable City

1 - A CORUA (ES)

3 - PALMA (ES)

Among the proposals received on the four

the different actors involved to participate in

It is of course possible to explain the winning

Spanish sites of Europans 13th edition, the jury

its design. Facing the reflections on how

projects from those three aspects which are

underlined 3 recurring main characteristics on

to innovate in living in private space, the

indeed integrated in all the projects. Still, it

the topic of the Adaptable City:

participating teams focused on the creative

seems to us interesting to analyse them from

1. The Adaptable City does not start from

colonisation of public space.

the prevailing aspect, as it brings connotations

scratch. Generating strategies adapted to

3. Nature turned out to be an essential element

enriching the above-mentioned generic

the existing urban structures seemed to be

on those collective spaces, whether public or

speech with new nuances.

essential for the submitted projects. The

private. The starting point of the landscaping of

new projects appear as an opportunity to

urban enclaves lies on productive hypotheses

recompose the situations very aspects that

that either incorporate urban gardening or

drove them to become outdated.

recover the ground as a space to vegetalise,

2. In a context of recycling, priority is given

whether in a controlled way or favouring

to the reinforcement of a public space layout

spontaneous growth.

that guarantees functional diversity and allows

1. Of recycling
and adaptation to
the existing urban
structures
In A Corua (fig.1) the fragility of the ras
natural ecosystem resulted in a metaphoric
way in the description of the housing
structures of the As Xubias district. The
winning project Nice to Sea You (fig.2)
makes a bet on the recognition of this housing
complex that colonised the slope in time as
a clearly identifiable district structure. The
young architects consider the resilience of
the population still living onsite as a value,
a specific way of life of this environment
that becomes an essential element of
the landscape and therefore needs to be
reinforced. Starting from there, the team
proposes to complete the districts existing
morphology with new elements that at an
adapted scale will take up part of the slope
while leaving out areas as natural private
spaces. The team revises the traditional

2 - NEW HOUSING AND REHABILITATION OF EXISTING HOUSING

A CORUA (ES), WINNER - NICE TO SEA YOU > SEE CATALOGUE P.75

typology and updates the buildings with

greenhouses for self-culture practices as

69

4 - REHABILITATION OF LANDSCAPED URBAN ITINERARIES

PALMA (ES), SPECIAL MENTION - SEAMBIOSIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.112

plug-ins fitting in the existing housing units in

This concern can be read in the persistence to

a proposal for complete rehabilitation aiming

recover and valorise the public spaces along

to improve housing conditions in the district

the urban tissue, from the coast to the city

through supporting food self-sufficiency.

centre. The team not only redesigns the urban

Seambiosis (fig.4)special mention on

pre-existent squares and itineraries sinking into

Palma (fig.3) made it clear that upgrading

the city to keep them as pedestrian corridors;

the coastline is useless unless based on a

they also reinforce the existing landscape to

thorough understanding of the urban tissue.

upgrade the corridors as green paths.

2. Of the creation
of a public space that
guarantees functional
diversity and creative
colonisation
The winning project In Motion (fig.5) for
Barcelonas Marina del Prat Vermel district
(fig.6) challenges architecture as seen many
times in recent history with the issue of
hybridisation with public space. In this way the
concept of elevated street is updated with a
sequence of vertically piled-up platforms taking
up functions of collective space and support
for various activities. The full height of building
is an urban infrastructure, which allows freeing

5 - ARCHITECTURE - PUBLIC SPACE

BARCELONA (ES), WINNER - IN MOTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.203

6 - BARCELONA (ES)

70

7 - ENSURING MOBILITY
IRN (ES), SPECIAL MENTION - OVER THE BORDER > SEE CATALOGUE P.94

the ground so that the earth can be used for

crossing the railway, one as a pedestrian

This section work is getting more detailed in

its own rehabilitation as a space to vegetalise.

path, the other for cultural use. The project

Palmas winning project, Salvemos el Horizonte

The ground freed from this waterproof and

gives priority to increasing the possibilities

(fig.9), in which one detail paradoxically

protecting layer can filter water again, breathe,

of connection between the reinforced urban

completes a generic proposal of potential

interfere stronger with natural cycles and favour

tissue and the new expansion to come, over

interventions and actions acting as driving

enhanced biodiversity in the urban centre.

the concrete design of the tissue for the future

forces for urbanity. Adaptable game rules when

On another scale, the special mention project

city. The team focuses on defining a rich

resetting the game board seen as the physical

Over the Border (fig.7) in Irn (fig.8) focuses on

sequence of public spaces, of pedestrian and

support through which the complexity of the

folding public space around a loop of routes

road paths that guarantee the continuity of an

fluxes and connections on the city coastline

linking the space on different levels an urban

urban territory torn apart by the wound of the

become evident.

sequence to which two corridors are added

railway infrastructure.

3. Of integrating
nature as an essential
element of the
contemporary city
This statement is so true that it would have
been very surprising not to see in any way
or another any revegetation process in the
submitted projects, even if tackled indirectly.
And so did it appear in Barcelona, with the
urban ground made visible after the removal of
the waterproof layer; but also in A Corua with
small greenhouses being added to guarantee
8 - IRN (ES)

a productive nature; and finally in Palma

71

9 - A MATRIX OF USES SECTION

PALMA (ES), WINNER - SALVEMOS EL HORIZONTE > SEE CATALOGUE P.111

and Irn with green paths accompanying

the proposed urban itineraries. In this way,
city landscaping to foster the emergence of
an environmental infrastructure improving
housing conditions in the urban environment
remains a constant trend in the submitted
projects. A large part of the planning
proposals integrate green systems, either
productive systems or systems to improve
biodiversity through spontaneous growth or
setting up green spaces as urban lungs.
The question is therefore: if the city grows
on itself, if it is to hyper-develop and use
every piece of land possible, isnt it be better
to make sure it takes place in adequate
housing conditions? And to prepare this isnt
it better to foresee a more than enough green
background?
Given this, a specific attention was casted
upon urban agriculture. Acknowledging the
advantages of urban gardening regarding selfconsumption or its capacity to reinforce social
bonds confirmed by the growing number of
practices developed by tactical urbanism
many projects integrated urban agriculture
as a shared practice that is necessary to the
contemporary urban society.
Of all submitted projects one must point out
Irns runner-up Ura Eta Natura (fig.10), in
which nature goes beyond its environmental
value to be interpreted as a necessary
heritage reference. The team states that if
the city of Irn wishes to preserve its identity,
it cannot separate it from the surrounding
natural spaces. Therefore the team does
not focus so much on an architectonic
typology to design the urban tissue as on the
management of a sequence of public spaces
able to build a unique urban landscape as
an extension of the surrounding natural
mountain landscape.

10 - NATURE AS HERITAGE
IRN (ES), RUNNER-UP - URA ETA NATURA > SEE CATALOGUE P.93

72

EUROPAN FRANCE RESULTS

Chairing the French Europan jury was my first experience, from the inside, of
this major European competition. What struck me first of all was the enthusiasm
and commitment. Enthusiasm of the entrants with 316 proposals received (out
of 1302 for all the European sites). Commitment by the municipalities that
submitted sites 10 in France for this session and of their representatives,
who worked very hard to express their aspirations, to analyse the projects, and
then to argue their preferences before the jury. Enthusiasm and commitment
as well from the experts, who gave an essential framework to the jurys work
in the form of multi-criterion analyses, but were also able to step outside the

framework to argue their preferences. And finally, enthusiasm from the jury, in the
debates leading up to the choices, which were often difficult, even Corneillian,
and also made under very heavy time pressure.
POINT OF VIEW OF A JURY MEMBER
NATHAN STARKMAN (FR), director of APUR (Atelier Parisien
dUrbanisme) from 1989 to 1989, then of the Lille Mtropole Urban Planning
Agency (FR). Chairman of the Europan 13 French jury.

Projects Between thePracticality ofContexts

and the Ambition ofTopics

1 - BONDY (FR)

2 - LA CORRZE (FR)

3 - GOUSSAINVILLE (FR)

La Corrze site (fig.2), involving three different

villages (a first for Europan) around the crucial
question of the future of rural villages. There
is no doubt that architects and urbanists can
no longer ignore questions of this kind, highly
salient as they are today. However, answering
them requires skills that not all the submitting
4 - SAINT-BRIEUC (FR)

Demanding
requirements

5 - MOULINS (FR)

teams were able to assemble. It therefore

happens that these questions are tackled as

set-up, finance, actors, governance, etc.

a kind of imposed formality, and met with banal

These two briefs are of course not mutually

or somewhat arbitrary responses, sometimes

exclusive. Europans requirements fit in with

reflecting current fashion. So we saw rather too

Much is asked of the entrants in a competition

and complement those of the municipalities.

many co-working spaces and urban farms,

that has evolved in recent sessions towards

However, there are nuances, differences in the

proposed for sites that were not really suited

subjects that are more urban than architectural.

orders of priority, evidenced by the disparities

to them, and participatory or crowdfunding

The teams have to respond to a sort of dual

between the preferences expressed by

approaches that were generous in spirit, but

brief. Firstly, the brief from the municipalities

municipalities and the opinions of the experts.

unconvincing.

that submitted project sites, which ask many

The debate is primarily about the feasibility of

classic questions about upgrading existing

the proposals and the short-term possibility

urban or periurban areas, and occasionally

of implementing them, factors which, for the

High-quality projects

about new developments. The questions

municipalities, are of major importance (though

Nevertheless, many responses were

are broad but situated and precise, and the

in my opinion, not necessarily realistic). This

successful in overcoming these difficulties and

municipalities are looking for answers that are

plethora of requirements is perhaps a source

proposed projects of great quality, more than

pragmatic and, as far as possible, consistent

of the limitations of imagination and innovation

the thirty projects winning, runner-up and

with the policies they are pursuing and capable

that were regretted a number of times during

special mention chosen by the jury.

of practical and rapid implementation. The

examination of the projects

The collected responses show great potential

topics chosen by Europan also formulate a

In addition, some sites raise difficult questions

openness and a real readiness to tackle

brief. Europan 13 continues the current of ideas

about programme definition or operational

pertinent issues. Even apparently modest

about the adaptable city begun in Europan

organisation. One striking example of this

sites, which asked tough questions, like

12. The candidates were asked to think

was the Bondy site (fig.1), an embodiment

La Corrze or Goussainville Old Village

about the issues of sustainable development

of all the still operative but ageing shopping

(fig.3), an isolated and noisy location at

and resilience, and to propose time-bound

zones for which there are currently very few

the end of the Roissy airport runways,

projects, processes rather than objects, in

transformation projects and even fewer

attracted a large number of responses.

other words to think about city production:

experiments in progress. Another example, the

The interest in very large sites and wider

73

landscape questions was particularly

marked. The proposals often stepped
outside the specified parameters, especially

Saint-Brieuc
and Moulins

when these were limited, in order to pursue

Out of the 30 projects chosen, I will now go

stronger links with the neighbouring territories

on to discuss a few that I found particularly

and enhance the force of the projects.

interesting, restricting myself to a few salient

Another strength lay in the responses to the

aspects of their content.

demand for adaptability. Numerous teams

First, two sites that attracted very high level-

proposed to combine scales, to intervene

projects, which had features in common:

In Saint-Brieuc, the Municipality is looking

locally at a territorial scale, and to vary the

Saint-Brieuc (fig.4) and Moulins (fig.5).

for a strategy of value enhancement aimed

natures of their interventions, in flexible and

Sites that are very large and open to their

at local people and tourists. The areas

progressive implementation strategies that

environment, marked by the strong presence

concerned are the town centre public

took the form of or resemble roadmaps.

of natural features (sea and hills at Saint-

spaces, the former Lgu docks and the

Beyond these characteristics, the projects

Brieuc, the River Allier and its banks at

links between town and port, embedded in

chosen by the jury stand out for a set of

Moulins), very close to old centres and located

a steep topography like that of a mountain

specific qualities: first, the appositeness of

within towns that are mid-sized (46,000 and

village. The task is therefore to work on

the responses to the challenges of the sites

58,000) and slightly sleepy. The central

the pathways, the visual openings, the

(precision of the analyses, appropriateness

challenge is to restore value and the chosen

architectural and urban ambiences.1

and specificity of proposals), the aesthetic

projects fall into the category of roadmaps.

One of the two winning projects, Seaside

or pedagogic quality of the submissions and,

The proposals, which reflect the scale and

Boulevard (fig.6), focuses its interventions

more rarely, the originality of the choices.

power of the site, focused primarily on the

on two routes between station and sea,

public spaces, which are multiple and widely

one running through the town centre fabric,

distributed, divisible and modulable over

refurbishing the public spaces, the other

time. Landscape, sustainable development

following the old railway line, which is converted

and long timeframes are centre stage; the

to the Boulevard de la mer. These routes link

processes are in the background, embedded

together all the proposed interventions, all

in the implementation of the proposal.

of which are based around a single toolbox

7 - SAINT-BRIEUC (FR), WINNER - LANDSCAPE FOCUS

> SEE CATALOGUE P.115

that combines landscape production

(ground, voids, emergences), building
design (evolving, modular), travel modes, the
introduction of a network of local amenities
This systematisation can sometimes seem a
little excessive, but it has the effect of linking
spatial elements and social life in interventions
that are context-sensitive and closely studied.
The second winning project, Landscape
Focus (fig.7), resolutely announces itself as
a landscape project anti-segregative and
economical that approaches the landscape
in all its depth, cultural, social and historical, to
make it a living source of territorial change. It
is also an ecological project, which talks about
reusing demolition materials and repairing
pollution. A set of potential long-term proposals
responds to the municipalitys aspirations
for its central areas, for the enhancement of
6 - SAINT-BRIEUC (FR), WINNER - SEASIDE BOULEVARD > SEE CATALOGUE P.116

the valleys However, the project stands

74

8 - MOULINS (FR), WINNER THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION > SEE CATALOGUE P.103

out above all for one original and powerful

bridge is the pretext for new ideas, but the

expression, which plays on the natural

choice: the conversion of dilapidated sites

questions raised go well beyond: they affect all

sciences, drawing parallels between the

near the sea (Lgu and Grve des courses

aspects of the reconciliation between the town

theories of Lamarck and Darwin and linking

brownfield areas, purification plant) to turn

and its river the treatment of the riverbanks,

them to the different ways in which the city

them into exceptional sites, the location of

the relations with the existing town, etc., but

evolves. The team relies on the already

urban industrial facilities (methanisation

also the urbanisation of flood zones and the

there as a foundation for initiatives that are

and lagooning centre, purification complex)

balance between enhancing and controlling

economical in investment and in energy.

and educational amenities focusing on the

urban expansion, in a territory without growth.

The proposals drive the natural evolution

environment in upgraded landscapes.

The winning project, The Theory of Evolution

of nine types of space (from the River Allier

In Moulins, the forthcoming arrival of a new

(fig.8), stands out for its vivid and playful

to the orchards on the left bank). The spatial

approach is highly refined. The graphic
representation, which combines wide views
and minimalist sketches, is controlled and
informative.
The project that received a special mention,
Les Allis de Moulins (fig.9), is methodical.
It begins with a large-scale reformulation
of urban planning policy. It then goes on to
define a two-level implementation strategy.
The Allis are points of limited intervention
(a staircase linking two levels of public space,

9 - MOULINS (FR), SPECIAL MENTION - LES ALLIS DE MOULINS > SEE CATALOGUE P.105

childrens play areas, temporary use of

space) capable of triggering or promoting
positive change. They are embedded in five
front lines, which are axes of long-term
work: gradual densification and reinforcement
of shops, development of the Allier park,
rebalancing of the riverbanks, rearrangement
of the public spaces, etc. More ambitious local
developments are incorporated into a roadmap
(square, gardens, environmental recycling and
resource centre, eco-neighbourhood on the
left bank).

10 - GOUSSAINVILLE (FR), RUNNER-UP - DES RACINES ET DES AILES > SEE CATALOGUE P.220

75

11 - LA CORRZE (FR), SPECIAL MENTION - NEW NOMADS

> SEE CATALOGUE P.231

A few striking
programmes
12 - MONTREUIL (FR), SPECIAL MENTION - OULIPO > SEE CATALOGUE P.158

A few projects are in my view of particular

interest for the originality and power of the

industry, as a tool of long-term ecological

innovation not lead somewhere?

programmes proposed and the questions

recovery and landscape enhancement.

The winning project in Vernon, Inscable

they raise. Almost all these projects are also

Although it needs further development, it puts

distance (fig.13), is a direct response to the

sidesteps, which meet the municipalities

forward the idea of an ambitious experiment

municipalitys brief for the enhancement of the

requirements for improvement, but to some

in ecological enhancement, essential in this

Seine-side site. It focuses on a powerful, simple

degree stand apart from the solutions the

context.

and playful proposal: the construction of a

municipalities were considering (solutions

In order to revitalise declining rural villages,

series of jetty-viewpoints extending from the

present in other projects chosen on the same

the project that received a special mention in

streets running down from the town centre to

sites). Not all these proposals are dealt with in

Corrze, New Nomads (fig.11), seeks to attract

the river, like a series of waterside pavilions that

equal depth, or with equal credibility, but they

new rurban populations for stays of varying

offer new leisure, cultural and social functions,

can open up promising debates.

length, possibly with the ultimate aim of turning

bringing new attractiveness to the town.

In Saint-Brieuc, the winning project Landscape

them into new inhabitants. The objective is to

An inventive opening up to the possibility of a

Focus, already mentioned, clearly forms part

make life easier for these new nomads and to

succession of hopefully ambitious creations.

of this category of projects through its original

facilitate their personal aspirations by offering

These examples give a little idea of the

and exemplary interpretation, which combines

them places to live, equipped with public

richness of the chosen projects and of their

ecology, pedagogy and landscape quality, in

amenities, and by integrating them into local

potential to conceive and then to implement

the regeneration of the brownfield sites.

social and economic life.

the adaptable city.

Goussainville was probably the sessions most

The team whose project, OuLiPo (fig.12),

difficult site. An old village that survives with

received a special mention project in Montreuil,

difficulty amidst a concentration of pollution

proposes to experiment with new relations

(noise from Roissy Airport, soil, water),

between land ownership and usage rights, and

caught between the impossibility of building

to illustrate them through a variety of practical

new houses and prohibitions or limitations on

projects. The idea is not necessarily original

the transformation of the historically protected

today, but it is presented in a focused, well

existing fabric. The runner-up project, Des

argued and relevant way. Better still, Montreuil

racines et des ailes (fig.10), proposes to focus

municipality and its land experts have declared

development on tree plantations and the wood

their interest. How could such openness to

13 - VERNON (FR), WINNER INSCABLE DISTANCE > SEE CATALOGUE P.183

QUOTE FROM THE SAINT-BRIEUC SITE DOSSIER

76

EUROPAN NORGE RESULTS

POINT OF VIEW OF ONE JURY MEMBER

ELLEN HELLSTEN (NO), architect and partner Ghilardi + Hellsten,
chairman of the Europan 13 Norwegian jury.

Adaptable Norway?
an Oil Stained Landscape
Norwegian economic
and socio-political
context

change course - a great but painful shift of

economy or collaborative consumptions,

mindset. Simultaneously Europe is facing

crowdfunding and entrepreneurship became

a large immigrant crisis. The international

buzz words in 2015 and the Europan themes

Organization of Migration concluded that

focusing on self-organization, sharing and

January 2016 the price of oil was 27 dollar

the number of immigrants arrived in Europe

process hit the contemporary agenda in

a barrel and 35,000 jobs in the region of

during 2015 had reached 1 million people.

Norway with surprising accuracy. But how did

Stavanger, Norways oil capital have been

More than 30,000 immigrants seeking asylum

this economic and socio-political context affect

lost in one and a half year. Every week

came to Norway, and in 2016 the estimates of

the competition results? The shift of focus in

more working places are being lost, and the

number of arriving immigrants is the double

Norway coincided with the ongoing European

bottom is not near. In a region with 300,000

to Norway only. A successful integration

13, and became more than relevant in the

inhabitants the crisis is evident. The beginning

of these new inhabitants can be severely

Forus site in Stavanger (fig.1).

of the post-oil era was forecasted, but still it

compromised with a tense national economy

hit hard and abrupt. The Norwegian welfare

and high unemployment rates coinciding with

state has for a long time been fuelled by the oil

the forthcoming fourth industrial revolution

economy, but with the shortcoming of demand

with global downsizing and automatization. At

for oil, and the promising results from the Paris

the same time other models of economic and

Climate Change Conference, Norway has to

social organizations are appearing; the sharing

1 - STAVANGER (NO), SPECIAL MENTION - INDIGO > SEE CATALOGUE P.177

THE FORUS AREA IS HOME TO BUSINESSES OF THE NORWEGIAN PETROLEUM INDUSTRY AND LIES IN THE REGION OF STAVANGER.

77

2 - STAVANGER (NO), SPECIAL MENTION - INDIGO > SEE CATALOGUE P.177

THE AUTHORS OF INDIGO ILLUSTRATE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RE-NATURALIZE LARGER LANDSCAPES SUCH AS THE DRAINED LAKE UPON PARTS ON WHICH FORUS WAS INITIALLY BUILT.

Stavanger, Post-Forus

Many competitors were smart in the sense

economy or the future business enterprises

that they understood that new businesses

in Stavanger, but in the hope for a smarter,

The core of the Norwegian petroleum industry

replacing the oil industry not necessarily need

digital, shared, smaller, robotic and airily one.

lies in a vast former industrial site called

the same amount or type of built environment

In this sense the Europan projects became

Forus. In the Europan Norway program the

(large national centres & headquarters and so

an eye opener on how to exploit the new

task at stake was proclaimed as the following:

on) as we see on Forus today. So when the

economic era to re-establish larger territorial

Fuelled by the postmillennial expansion of

authors of the special mention project Indigo

landscape qualities areas probably no longer

petroleum industry investments, the future

(fig.2) or runner-up project Rise of Nature (fig.3)

only needed for just big businesses. This

prospects for Forus are of immense growth

show signs of a more light urbanism, it is not

approach to economy and land use was an

and urban densification. With the Europan

based on a disbelief in the future of Norwegian

important discovery.

competition Stavanger wants ideas for

how to use this strategic site to pilot a new
prototype of urban development at Forus. A
key question of adaptability is how to futureproof the upcoming, rapid developments. How
can Forus develop a strategy for both growth
and change?
But long before the jury sessions started it
was already evident that rapid growth was
questioned due the state of the economy
and was not the main focus for the site
representatives anymore. The site is flooded
with large empty office buildings with no
tenants, and the task at hand changed from
a more conventional urban retrofitting to a
more visionary whats next? project. Projects
illustrated possible futures based not only on
growth, but also decline, shrinking, erasure and
stagnation with lets do nothing approaches.

3 - STAVANGER (NO), RUNNER-UP - RISE OF NATURE > SEE CATALOGUE P.176

THE VAST FIELD OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS TO BE CLUSTERED IN ENCLAVES, CONCENTRATED SETTLEMENTS IN PARKS
BASED ON CLEAR EXISTING IDENTITIES.

78

4 - STAVANGER (NO), WINNER - FORUS LABING > SEE CATALOGUE P.175

THE PROCESS IS REFERRED TO AS A MIDDLE-OUT EXPERIMENTAL PROCESS WHERE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND EXECUTIVE DECISIONS INTERMINGLE.

New planning
processes

Reuse of existing
structures

To enable a lighter urbanism traditional

could generate engagement from a large, yet

Understanding the whole area as the site

planning processes also need to adapt and

unknown crowd, the winning project Forus

also gave new meaning to reappropriation

were questioned in many proposals. In the

LABing (fig.4) shows an operative and more

and reuse of existing structures, both on an

competition context the process-oriented

transparent path, where many stakeholders

infrastructural and a real estate level. While

democratic project gives everyone a great

can immediately find their nametag. This

jurying the Europan entries, we witnessed the

vibe (either out of true belief or correctness),

strategy fronted a necessary collaboration

first new inhabitants in Forus; 1,000 asylum

but in most entries the diagrams of

between governing parties, business

seekers in an empty office complex close to

participatory road maps only show us what the

stakeholders and self-organizing entities. This

the Europan site (fig.5). Few competitors were

architects believe is necessary to embrace in

statement was labelled with neither a top-down

anticipating this event, even though many

such a process, but cannot simulate reality (for

nor a bottom-up process from the authors and

were suggesting similar transformations of

obvious reasons due to the type of task). For

that was perfectly timed for the economic and

office buildings into housing and temporary

the jury it is like evaluating an abstract and a list

socio-political situation in the Stavanger region.

uses. But it was much more real than what

of content, whilst the paper remains unwritten.

The project illustrates a design management

many had expected. Many proposals were

But still it is of great value and often preferred

approach which is neither scale- nor site-

also concerned with the potential reuse of

in comparison with the alternative; a finished

specific. In other words, the project illustrated

oilrigs that were to be dismantled. This was a

design. On the Stavanger site it was clear that

on the Europan site exemplifies a process,

strong message to the city of Stavanger and

strategies that could engage new and existing

showing everybody that for the time being, the

the ultimate symbol of the end of an era. The

users of Forus in the planning process were

site itself is not the main topic of discussion.

winning proposal managed to illustrate this

necessary to enable a greater change. First of

The urban laboratory is not a building, but a

transition in non-nostalgic and opportunistic

all it is them that have to gain ownership over

process that can foster economic, social and

projects converting oilrigs into local facilities

the new reality. So, complementary to the

urban innovation, and the actual site is the

for new green energy production, somehow

more visionary images in Indigo project that

whole Forus area.

enhancing their former identity while at the

79

5 - STAVANGER (NO), PHOTO: AFTENBLADET.

NORWEGIAN PROPERTYS LARGE OFFICE BUILDING
NEAR THE EUROPAN SITE (20,000SQM) WAS IN 2015
EMPTY AND BECAME TRANSFORMED INTO AN ARRIVAL
CENTRE FOR IMMIGRANTS SEEKING ASYLUM.

same time replacing their function (fig.6).

which is probably honest and healthy, but

to ask how we could future-proof a Europan

Bringing the installations from the oil industry

compared to the classical elevator-pitch

organization without the municipalities and if

home to Forus envisioned a large-scale

the Europan process becomes a transatlantic

Europan could become a light platform

shared energy concept, a democratization

crossing where there is a certain probability

the Kickstarter of architecture and urbanism

of accessibility to energy, while simultaneously

that by arrival your proposal has already

processes (cf. www.kickstarter.com) or

symbolizing a shared history and identity.

been suggested by others. In the case of the

something even braver?

Stavanger site many projects fell short in their

Self-Organization
Sharing Project
(Process)

content because they were half year old and

A more process-oriented urbanism is likely to

of light urbanism continuously adapting to

increase together with the ongoing rise of the

new realities the architect cannot be the extra

social economy. New forms of collaboration

weight slowing down the process.

where people share services and knowledge

In Europan Norway 13 we saw tendencies

are cost effective and environmentally

of new and interesting content, but often

sustainable; although long overdue, they are

trapped in more conventional processes. It is

becoming popular among the masses. In

of great necessity that young architects learn

addition to redefining the role of the architect

to make business in a field were traditionally

as promoter, curator, facilitator or platform,

participatory processes is often seen as

these forms focus on decentralizing power and

volunteer work. In the rising awareness that the

increasing the speed of processes through

project, and not the object, is the work and

self-organization. As a result crowdfunding and

the welfare state is not going to pay for it, the

pitching becomes everyday entrepreneurial

architect has to learn from e.g. how designers

activities that architects have to get involved

are now taking control of their shares and

in. The timeframe of the Europan competition

bringing the products directly to the users

on the other hand, gives the competitors

without unnecessary intermediaries (clients

the possibility for slow-cooking projects,

with profit as a goal). In this context it is fair

by the time of jury decisions already out-dated.

How can we make the Europan competition
relevant in an increasingly collaborative and
fast-changing society? If the future is a kind

6 - STAVANGER (NO), WINNER - FORUS LABING > SEE CATALOGUE P.175

POST-OIL STRUCTURES BECOME NEW ICONS OF A NEW ERA WORKING ON A TERRITORIAL SCALE.

80

EUROPAN STERREICH/KOSOVO RESULTS

Europan Kosovo with only one site was associated with Europan
sterreich. So the sterreich Jury members also had to analyse and
judge the projects submitted in Kosovo, on the site in Gjakova, in addition
to the projects submitted on the Austrian sites.
A representative of Europan Kosovo joined the Austrian jury to evaluate the
projects submitted on Gjakova, Kosovar site.

POINT OF VIEW OF A JURY MEMBER

IRENE DJAO-RAKITINE (FR), landscape architect,
director at DJAO-RAKITINE in London (GB),
research assistant at the ETH Zrich (CH),
visiting critic to the London Mayors Project Review Panel.
Member of the Austrian Europan 13 jury.

Adaptability around a Core Structure

Europan is an opportunity for architects and

It seems that truly radical statements, which by

would boost their social and economic local

landscape architects to push the boundaries

definition would not compromise or balance

activity. And this is where the Europan exercise

of their respective domains in a context that

out all aspects of the project, can indeed

becomes an exciting challenge.

should be both experimental and professional,

provoke interesting debates. But in a context

considering the fact that most local actors and

where most of the stakeholders actually want

stakeholders involved on each site are willing

to implement the projects while limiting the

to implement an innovative yet feasible project.

associated risks, radicality does not seem to

Which means that radical experimentation

be appropriate.

might not be possible in a paradoxical period

Nonetheless, stakeholders, private and/or

When thinking about innovation, we tend to

of economic austerity where maximum

public, are generally willing to support projects

picture high technology and digital world. It

economic profitability and pragmatism are

that would stand out by their strength and

actually appears that most of what we have

common drivers.

innovativeness and become a catalyst that

considered as being the strongest projects

Innovation, adaptability,
identity

were not so innovative in this sense. What

was considered as innovative was rather
the obviousness and simplicity of the means
put in place to create adaptable yet strong
structures.
An adaptable city is not just about concrete
infrastructures that are big or generic enough
to accept variable numbers or functions. In a
world where climate becomes more sudden
and extreme and people move more and
faster, what we need is reactivity. Which is why
we have to think about a new concept of urban
form. Not to say that it would supersede our
historic city structures. We need them and we
need to accept that some elements of the city
including natural infrastructures (like rivers,
parks, lakes and woods) should be designed,
built and managed to last and develop, while
other elements should be additionally built to
offer immediate and efficient solutions able
to be transformed or recycled to adapt the
1 - GRAZ (AT)

changing needs of the city. But one needs

to define the core structure of the city first in
order to allow future flexibility and change.
What would it then mean for a city with a long
history and deeply anchored traditions? Does
adaptability mean change and potentially
disfiguration and identity loss? Not if it creates
a strong enough structural network of social
spaces, lines and points where people move
and stop, see and meet. And this is what
the following two project teams seem to
have understood and implemented in their
respective proposals.

2 - GJAKOVA (KO)

81

3 - GRAZ (AT), WINNER - WALZER > SEE CATALOGUE P.87

Walzer (Graz) &

SEAMbiosis (Gjakova):
2 structural cores,
a point (a rectangular
square or forum) and
a line (a linear park)
Walzer and SEAMbiosis illustrate two very
different geographical situations and socioeconomic contexts.
One is set in Graz, Austria (fig.1), and lies at
the edge of a very consistent and organized
city centre but within a former industrial district
nowadays under urban development pressure.
The other one, in Gjakova, Kosovo (fig.2), is
located in a historical city centre with great
potential, but today dismantled and rather

4 - GRAZ (AT), WINNER - WALZER > SEE CATALOGUE P.87

unorganized.
In Graz, the site belongs to the Austrian railway

but with the potential to become the core of

company and to a building material company,

the project a (Roman) forum, a civic space

and was suggested by the City of Graz

where diverse people from the development or

and BB with a desire to plan a mixed-use

from further neighbourhoods can meet, gather

development valued by the proximity of the

and exchange.

main transport hub. It is a site under land

The forum is defined by a colonnade, which

pressure and at the opposite of the loose

distributes the different adjacent buildings

Gjakova site, which is in need of intensity.

of the development as well as openings

The Graz winning project, Walzer (fig.3, 4,

and passageways to the surrounding

5), secures a strong and permanent open

neighbourhoods. It also allows people to walk

space at its heart to organize and manage

outdoor while being sheltered.

the density around it. The design team of

This simple, yet strong core gives the

Walzer composed of Mihai Buse, Marton

development the possibility to evolve and

Tvissi and Tams Fischer indeed suggests

adapt, grow or shrink, without losing its

to frame and protect a rectangular central

identity, status and role in relation to the city

space, whose void still needs to be designed

and neighbourhood it belongs to. The forum is

5 - GRAZ (AT), WINNER - WALZER > SEE CATALOGUE P.87

82

a distribution point as well as a meeting point.

Mineral or planted, or both, it is a symbol of
socialisation and exchange. And this is what
a new district needs to start its life.
In Gjakova, the site is in a central position and
has the Krena River at its heart. The river
although a major landscape element does
not currently seem to belong to the city, which
turns its back to it the banks are steep and
the water is simply not physically accessible.
By designing its banks and connections to
the city, winning project SEAMbiosis (fig.6,
7, 8), by Erblin Bucaliu, Rrita Pula and Dea
Luma, not only creates a linear urban park
glamorizing the surrounding districts, but also
creates the potential for the river to become a
structural spine for the urban evolution and a
major catalyst for the citizens. It is a sensitive
yet powerful proposal which encompasses
both the wider scale of the territory and the
immediate scale of the river and surrounding
districts.
As an ecological corridor, it has the potential
to connect the city centre to major surrounding
landscapes (Cabrati Hill, Shkugeza Park),
making sure that the city is part of a living
nature network and is not isolated from its
original nature and setting.
As a major public space for the city, the river
park is both an active and passive landscape.
Its planting and promenades follow the natural
meandering flow of the water. But it also
offers civic spaces and includes private and
public activities. It has the potential to create
a stronger natural environment, including a
better-managed palette of native species as
well as spaces such as urban squares to open
the river to the city and create fluid physical
and visual relationships between the city and
its river.
This is an infrastructure that could become
the core structure for Gjakovas urban
development and allow adaptability to happen.
The surrounding districts will benefit from
the park and, as the different sections of the
park are characterized by its edges, the park
6 - GJAKOVA (KO), WINNER - SEAMBIOSIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.83

will hopefully benefit from its surrounding

83

7 - GJAKOVA (KO), WINNER - SEAMBIOSIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.83

developments. Sometimes built very close to

the water, sometimes much further, the urban
fabric creates moments of compression
and release, which will define the different
atmospheres of the river park.
The way the project takes advantage of the
various existing conditions is appropriate.
It is not a big gesture to create a symbol.
It is a series of connected and coherent
interventions, responding to the rivers various
edge conditions.
Both projects are the results of a fine analysis
and understanding of the sites specificities.
But above all, one can feel that for both of
them, intuition, natural desire and common
sense have been strong drivers in creating
powerful and specific identities.
In Graz, there was the intuition that in a new
district where building density might become
overwhelming one has to create and almost
sanctify one common, attractive and welldefined open public ground to secure the
quality of social life through the future changes
and adaptations of the neighbourhood.
In Gjakova, it was obvious that one has to be
able to walk along the river for pure pleasure
as well as for commodity of movement through
the city. Intuition that the river, its water and its
vegetation, once revealed and restored as a
precious asset, would become a place where
people would want to gather and meet.
And this is probably where innovation lies. In
this simplicity.

8 - GJAKOVA (KO), WINNER - SEAMBIOSIS > SEE CATALOGUE P.83

84

EUROPAN PORTUGAL RESULTS

The program for Europan 13 in Portugal (Azenha do Mar/Odemira,
Barreiro and Santo Tirso), while putting on the agenda a new issue of
multidimensional urban space adaptations, brought up the case that urban
social crisis in Europe may also reveal new specific city challenges: how
to support ideas with an economy of resources, mobilizing the value
generated for the populations themselves as a part included in problem
solving? How does this translate in the Europan competition the need for
new approaches in thematic formulation and in solutions with new creative
procedures?

POINT OF VIEW OF TWO JURY MEMBERS

JOO CABRAL (PT), architect, professor in the Faculty of Architecture
of Lisba University, study on Urban Policy in Portugal. Member of the
Europan 13 Portuguese jury.
LEONOR CHEIS (PT), landscape architect, studio NPK, Lisba.
Member of the Europan 13 Portuguese jury.
AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SITE OF SANTO TIRSO
CONCEIO MELO (PT), chief architect for planning and technical
management in Santo Tirso Municipality.

Crisis and Opportunities

1 - BARREIRO (PT), WINNER - BETWEEN THE LINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.27

Barreiro,
by Joo Cabral

both the urban centre and the rivers estuary.

The space between the lines promotes the

In spatial terms, that is achieved through two

concept of the city adapted to the test and

lines of built structures and design projects

the laboratory experiment for design and

Between the Lines, winner in Barreiro (fig.1),

with differentiated functions and uses. The

innovation in self-organization, sharing and

follows the objectives stated in the guidelines,

West line is a place of leisure activities and

landscaping, which, overtime, might re-shape

applying a dynamic approach for the develop-

network connections ensuring the site and pro-

the character and identity of the city of Barreiro.

ment of multiple and diversified uses, based on

ject feasibility. The East line creates a limit

In the runner-up project, Insert Coina (fig.2), the

the structure of paths, tracks and promenades.

and an edge with structural functions (bridge

terms of reference and the objectives stated

These will create site legibility while gua-

transport and distribution) and other soft uses

in the guidelines are translated into a series

ranteeing the necessary connections and links

taking advantage of the natural conditions and

of built objects and uses that will overtime

for the functional and spatial integration with

the potential of the estuary.

give shape to a diversified and cosmopolitan

2 - BARREIRO (PT), RUNNER-UP - INSERT COINA > SEE CATALOGUE P.28

85

3 - AZENHA DO MAR (PT), WINNER - LIMENOCHORA > SEE CATALOGUE P.199

part of the new city. The construction of a land

the importance of integrating the population

use project through the programmed addition

on the Rota Vicentina pedestrian route; from

of functions, objects and facilities can be

the new panoramic points to Azenha do Mar

considered a conventional approach. Yet, that

regaining an identity as part of the route,

does not prevent the pursuit of adaptability

an observation point and simultaneously a

and innovation for site and city creation. On

place that is worth being noted. The proposal

the contrary, what this project shows is that

takes the existing fabric, completes the

the rational design and urban structure and

pattern and creates several open spaces of

the right and intelligent combination of uses,

shared neighbourhood, which complement

functions and built objects, can be an efficient

the network of public spaces. This sharing

planning tool with the capacity for being

of the open outer space promotes urban

legible and therefore accessible to community

environments, the transformation of which

participation and adaptable to changing

can be activated with reduced resources

political and economic conditions.

and timely and assertive interventions. The

architecture is based on the reinterpretation

Azenha do Mar/
Odemira,
by Leonor Cheis

of traditional architecture models, adaptable

Limenochora and Second Lines, winner

individual privacy needs with the communitys

and runner-up in Azenha do Mar/Odemira,

collective needs. The recognition of the scale

both respond to the 3 topics suggested for

of the space of this town and the delicacy of

the Europan 13 competition theme The

the intervention contrasts with the affirmative

Adaptable City: Welfare State vs. Self-

desire to transform the port and the activation

Organization; Segregation vs. Sharing; and

of new functions. Throughout the process,

Object vs. Process.

community members are to be the key

Limenochora (fig.3) highlights the strategic

players in the renewal of the existing socio-

link between the earth and the sea, noting

economic fabric.

to new ways of living homes adjusted to

various forms of space, delivered through
modular systems, adaptable configuration
and flexible in use. It is designed to reconcile

86

4 - AZENHA DO MAR (PT), RUNNER-UP - SECOND LINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.200

The Second Lines (fig.4) strategy sets out a

give meaning to the idea of living in community.

complementing other existing and connecting

process involving the community and the

Creating a new niche of hospitality, contempo-

to the multifunctional model of development:

people as an alternative to a conventional

rary and cultural tourism linked to well-being,

to do much with very little.

sense of design. It thereby enhances the

knowledge, discovery, sharing, uniqueness

concept of community centred on its inhab

and the ability to sustain themselves through

itants and the concept of landscape as a

local traditional activities? Fishing is associated

result of productive and cultural activities of

with research, leisure, education, landscape,

the community over the territory. The proposal

sport, tours, bio-food, housing, biodiversity.

assumes that traditional practices and land

It is not a project based on objects, but a

The projects for Santo Tirso, in particular

use must be enriched with new procedures

process integrating new elements to what is

the three prize winners, take into account

with the active participation of the people who

already on site, by integrating new activities

the strategic location and the recognition of

5 - SANTO TIRSO (PT), SPECIAL MENTION - PLAY TIME > SEE CATALOGUE P.163

Santo Tirso,
by Conceio Melo

87

6 - SANTO TIRSO (PT), RUNNER-UP - 3TIRSOLINES > SEE CATALOGUE P.162

its importance in urban and social life. It is

to local problems and Europan 13 theme:

building and the outside space. The pergolas

essential to counteract the current abandon

Play Time, special mention (fig.5), focuses

solution, designed in a sensitive way and

trend, through a commitment to a more

more on the role and intervention in the market

articulated with footpaths and existing trees,

adaptive strategy that reconnects Santo Tirso

building; 3tirsolines, runner-up (fig.6), makes

redefines the square scale and solves its

market with city areas offering new possibilities

a big bet on green corridors in conjunction

excessive size current problems as an urban

for urban vitality. In order to reconnect

with the strategic area; and FOODlab Santo

place.

dismissed agricultural areas to the production

Tirso, winner (fig.7), focuses on the market

The project will be developed in close

chain, the market will be the last link, allowing

conversion with new roles and surroundings

coordination with other partners in a dialogue

direct interaction between producers and

on a going concern perspective.

managed by the municipality as a necessary

consumers, by offering them new possibilities

The options awarded enable the phasing of the

condition for its success. The early involvement

to show the products, creating employment

project, facilitating their implementation and

between the project team and the users is the

and increasing local food culture.

adaptation to the conditions of construction

critical point and the bound that can guarantee

With different approaches, the three projects

and financial engineering. The proposal for

its success. The participation of Santo Tirso

respond to these strategic objectives,

the markets internal functional reorganization

in the Europan 13 competition was essential

recovering the space adjacent to strategies

and improvement of environmental conditions

for this subsidiary implementation strategy

of public space and increased soft mobility in

through the central courtyard coverage,

the local authority is building, supported by

progress. All of them demonstrate sensitivity

proposes greater communication between the

the international reflection on urban problems.

7 - SANTO TIRSO (PT), WINNER - FOODLAB > SEE CATALOGUE P.161

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CREDITS

Europan 13 results
This booklet is published in the context
of the thirteenth session of Europan
Head of publication
DIDIER REBOIS, Secretary General
of Europan
Editorial secretary
FRANOISE BONNAT, Europan Europe
responsible of Europan publications
English translation
FREDERIC BOURGEOIS
JOHN CRISP
Graphic design and layout
LA ROLLAND
Edited by
EUROPAN EUROPE
Palais de Tokyo
13 av. du Prsident Wilson
75116 Paris
France
www.europan-europe.eu

APRIL 2016